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THE NOBLEST 
ROMAN 

A Story of Political Debauchery 
and Prostituted Allegiance. 

BY 

SINCLAIR MORELAND 



BETTY BAUGH 






Copyright 1910, by 
SINCLAIR MORELAND 
Published July, 1910 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



©CI,A271414 


Dedicated to the have and pure patriots of 
Texas whose lives have inspired a lofty 
standard of civic morality. 


To the Reader. 


This book is only the outgushing emotions of 
the heart, the unstudied utterances of feeling, 
rather than the studious deductions of the logi- 
cian or the elegant sentimentality of the rhetor- 
ician. This humble book may wing its way into 
many homes and soon be lost in the dead sea of 
oblivion; the almost unknown name of the hum- 
ble author may soon be numbered with the 
things that were; 

“And as much forgot, as the Indian’s 
Canoe that crossed the bosom of the 
I/onely lake a thousand years ago.’’ 

Toving my native State with a wild and pas- 
sionate devotion, I have spoken to the guardians 
of her honor with emotion too high for words. 
I can only pray God to bring peace out of dis- 
quietude, and harmony out of chaos; and 
calm the fierce elements of political strife and 
party madness. Such is the object of my un- 
pretending novel, therefore I submit it to the 
public eye, confident of one thing only — that it 
contains truths above the land-mark of the 
Tethean -wave — truths that can never die. 

SINCLAIR MORELAND. 
Austin, Texas, 1910. 


Nohilitas sola est atque unica virtus. 


Leading Characters of the Story. 


SENATOR Bradley — United States Senator. 
George St. Clair — Labor Leader. 

Judge Graham — Supreme Judge. 

Lucile Graham — His Daughter. 

Uncle Ned — H is Negro Servant. 

Henry Priest — President Brooks- Priest Oil Co. 
John Priest — His Son. 

Kalab — Pres, of a Texas Lumber Syndicate. 
Hansford Kalab — His Son. 

John Hewett — Mgr. of Brooks-Priest Oil Co. 
Kate Hewett — His Daughter. 

Kennel — Bradley’s Campaign Manager, 

Col. Black — Member of the Texas Legislature 
Pat Crow — Notorious kidnapper and detective. 


The Noblest Roman 


CHAPTER I. 

HIS morning Henry T. Priest, 
president of the Brooks-Priest 
Oil Company, sat in the private 
office of David B. Francot, a dis- 
tinguished politician and business man of St. 
Louis, Mo. Priest’s face wore a troubled look 
as he consulted with his friend regarding his in- 
terests in Texas. 

“Our lawyers failed to successfully combat 
the suit against us, our fight was in vain ; we are 
banished from Texas.” 

“Then you have given up the fight?” asked 
Francot in a startled tone as he gazed steadily 
into the face of the financial diplomat. 



10 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


“No! By the eternals no!” quickly spoke up 
Priest; “I never play a losing game, I’ve too 
many jacks in hand.” 

“But you lost the game in Texas,” remarked 
Francot as he re-lighted his cigar. 

“No, indeed, that game has not yet been fin- 
ished; I have only to buy my jacks and win in 
the end.” 

“Ah! I see you still pursue the same old 
tactisc, you are the prince of tacticians,” laugh- 
ed Francot. 

‘ ‘ What I want is a man who possesses personal 
and political influence, a man powerful and saga- 
cious enough to handle the Governor and Attor- 
ney-General of Texas.” 

“In other words, you want a political genius 
to tunnel your company back into Texas.” 

“I do.” 

“Then I have your man,” said Francot. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


11 


^‘Who is he?’’ 

‘‘United States Senator Bradley of Texas.” 

“Are you sure we can safely lay our plans 
before him, and not fear a betrayal of them to 
those who cravingly seek our destruction?” 

“You may do so with perfect safety, provided 
you make it to his interest to do so. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ How does the Senator measure his interest ? ’ ’ 
asked Priest. 

“By the dollar,” answered Francot, “but he 
is a shy old fox, and you must be very careful 
and approach him on this subject in a very judi- 
cious manner.” 

“Place me in conference with this man, and 
I assure you that the heart and hand of Henry 
Priest are yours for life. ’ ’ 

“My dear sir, your hand and heart given me 
in the past is indeed sufficient compensation for 
an active service in your behalf at this time, 
the time you need it most.” 


12 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Thank you, Francot, for your word of 
esteem ; I would appreciate very much an inter- 
view with Senator Bradley at the earliest pos- 
sible moment,’^ replied Priest. 

“Then I will wire at once and request him to 
come to St. Louis immediately.’^ 

“Then you are sure of results?” 

“Positively sure, sir; at the present time 
Senator Bradley is under pecuniary obligations 
to me, in other words. Priest, I have but to say 
the word and this United States Senator will do 
my bidding.” 

“Then, we shall realize in him the effectual 
instrument through which we may be re-admitted 
into Texas, and continue our business,” re- 
marked Priest, as he rose to his feet.” 

“Yes, he is the instrument you need for this 
work ; be generous with your purse, and you will 
find him a strong factor in replacing the bright 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


13 


Lone Star again among the treasured gems of 
your corporate diadem.^’ 

hope you have prophesied correctly in re- 
gard to my business interests : I shall never 
forget you for your assistance in this matter. 
Phone me at my office just as soon as you re- 
ceive an answer to the message sent Senator 
Bradley. Good morning/’ said Priest as he 
left the office of one of Missouri’s most trusted 
and beloved sons. 

Francot at once wired Washington city; in 
response to this message he was informed that 
Senator Bradley was now at his home in Texas. 
Francot then wired the Senator at his home 
town, and in reply received the following an- 
swer : 

‘I leave for Washington tonight, will stop 
over in St. Louis.’ 

Thus begins the tale of a dark and treacher- 


14 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ous plot out of which spring deeds of dreadful 
note. “The grand battle of a greater liberty 
has yet to be fought — ^not with swords and 
staves and armed men; not amid the bloody 
shock of embattled legions, marshalled armies 
and floating navies ; not amid the howling thund- 
ers of bloody revolutions, but with the grander 
and holier weapons of truth. Truth and error 
must meet upon the wide and shining fields of 
fair discussion, and there forever settle the vexed 
questions which now madden the popular brain. 
The Church, the College, the Press and the 
Rostrum — these are the palladiums of Liberty — 
these the armies and navies that must do battle 
for the right, crush down the wrong, and wake 
in every bounding soul the reverberating aspira- 
tion for justice, truth and mercy, law, order and 
true government. These must clear the ship for 
^action and guide her proudly and sublimely 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 15 

onward amid the stranded factions of our proud 
State.” 

Since the opening of this chapter, two days 
have passed into the cycles of eternity; on this 
the morning of the third, the curtain goes up, 
and the first act of a fearful drama begins, a 
drama into which is woven a tragedy as dark, 
deep and bloody as the most infinite brain of 
incarnated devils could ever conceive. 

Senator Bradley, the trusted warrior of the 
masses, arrived in St. Louis this morning, and 
after consulting with Francot, finds himself be- 
hind closed doors and in secret conference with 
Henry Priest, the most dastardly enemy and 
oppressor of the laboring people of Texas. 

“I must congratulate you. Senator, upon your 
late political promotion; you have the distinc- 
tion of . being the successor of a great Senator, 
said Priest after the usual morning greetings 


w^ere over. 


16 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Thank you, Mr. Priest,’’ replied Senator 
Bradley. “This senatorial victory is the re- 
sult of a hard and subborn fight, therefore the 
laurels of such a victory are appreciated.” 

“By the way, Senator, I believe I have a let- 
ter of introduction to you from our mutual 
friend, Francot,” said Priest as he handed the 
letter to Bradley. 

“What are your troubles, Mr. Priest?” asked 
Senator Bradley as he finished reading the letter. 

“The Attorney General of Texas is trying to 
drive my company out of business in that State. ’ ’ 
‘ ‘ The people of Texas will not, in my opinion, 
tolerate the methods of the Gigantic Oil Trust. ’ ’ 
“I see that you are laboring under the same 
misapprehension that so many of your people 
are. The Brooks-Priest Oil Company is not the 
Gigantic, or any part of it. The Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company is an independent business, neither 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


17 


owned nor controlled by any trust/' replied 
Priest emphatically. 

‘'But my understanding is, you have already 
been convicted in the courts of our State for 
being a part of the Gigantic Oil Trust," re- 
mark Senator Bradley as he leaned back in his 
chair. 

“We were expressly acquitted of that charge." 

“Then, ‘what was the offense for which your 
company has been convicted?" 

“We were convicted for violating the 
law against exclusive contracts," replied Priest,, 
nervously. 

“If that is your only offense, you ought 
to have no trouble in settling the matter with 
the State authorities," replied Bradley. 

“Now, Senator, I want you to return to Texas ; 
and straighten out our tangled locks; as the 
most influential man of that State, you can dOj» 
us a great service." 


18 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


I practice law and not influence,” pro- 
tested Senator Bradley. 

■“Then you are the man we want,” pleaded 
Priest; “we need an influential lawyer to rep- 
resent our interests in Texas.” 

““State the manner in which you wish me to 
j[*,epresent your interests in my State?” said 
^Senator Bradley. 

'“Ho at once to Waco, offer to compromise the 
-suit pending tliere against us, and get it dis- 
missed ; pay the State attorneys a liberal fee for 
the compromise and dismissal of this suit. Ac- 
cept the proposition I have just made you, and I 
will present you this morning my check for one 
thousand dollars. ’ ^ 

‘“Priest, I cannot understand why you 

ib grossly the relationship existing 

between your company and that of the Gigan- 
tic,” said Senator Bradley, as a flush of assumed 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


19 


anger crimsoned his cheeks. ‘‘Both the Supreme 
court of Texas and of the United States decided 
that your company was a trust, and that it 
should be expelled from the State. I have made 
a personal examination of existing conditions, 
and my findings completely substantiate the 
correctness of the Court’s decision.” 

‘‘Then, Senator, you refuse to give us your 
assistance in this matter?” asked Priest, in an 
excited tone. 

“I refuse, sir, to wear a Janus face or jeop- 
ardize the interest of my people for a paltry 
thousand.” 

“Ah! Senator, conscience makes cowards of 
men!” 

“But do you not realize the fact, sir, that I 
represent a people in the Halls of Legislation 
whose interests are antagonistic to every interest 
of a trust, therefore, I can not and will not by 


20 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


such inconsistency endanger my lofty political 
estate for such a small recompense ? Then, 
again, I could not return immediately to Texas, 
as I must go at once to Kentucky and sell a bunch 
of horses in order to be able to meet an obli- 
gation already past due.” 

Pardon me. Senator, but may I ask the full 
amount of that obligation?” asked Priest, in a 
hopeful tone. 

‘ * Three thousand dollars, sir, and this must be 
met at once.” 

*^Ah, Senator, then we can be of great assis- 
tance to each other; I will give you my check 
this morning for three thousand dollars as pay- 
ment for your services in our behalf, which will 
relieve you of your present financial embarrass- 
ment, making it possible for you to forego your 
trip to Kentucky, and return to Texas.” 

‘‘Mr. Priest, I would be glad to assist you in 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


21 


any way I can, because of my friendship for 
Governor Francot, but I can not accept your 
fee,^^ answered Senator Bradley seriously. 

‘ ‘ Why not, Senator ? ’ ^ asked Priest, with mark- 
ed confusion. 

* ‘ Because I can not serve at the same time two 
masters, without violating the strictest rule in 
the code of propriety. ’ ^ 

“Then, according to that principle, a United 
States senator must sever all connection with 
his personal affairs and resign supervision over 
them when he receives his commission to serve 
in a representative capacity,^’ pleaded Priest. 

“Not at all, sir; I still retain supervision over 
the little I possess, and shall continue to do 
so; as that is man’s natural prerogative, be he 
peasant or senator ; but you must remember you 
are asking me to assist in the promotion of a 
business in which I have no personal pecuniary 
interest. ’ ’ 


22 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


^^Well, Bradley, if you were a share-holder in 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, would you hesi- 
tate to defend its interests outside of the Halls 
of the Federal Congress?” asked Priest, as he 
closely studied the expression on Bradley’s face. 

‘‘Not in the least, Mr. Priest, for, in defend- 
ing the company, I would, as I have just said, 
be exercising my natural prerogative.” 

“Then, again, Senator, if you were a share- 
holder in our company, would you hesitate in 
accepting an attorneyship for same?” asked 
Priest, as he saw in his mind his cherished goal. 

‘ ‘ Certainly not, but, as I own no stock in your 
company, I can not aid you in your warfare 
against the people of Texas. ’ ’ 

“Now, Senator, I’ll tell you what we will do. 
We will sell you ten thousand dollars worth of 
stock, and appoint you as an attorney for the 
company, with a large annual salary.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


23 


I am not financially able to purchase the 
stock/’ replied the Senator, as he cast his eyes 
meditatively toward the floor. 

^‘Then we will issue to you ten thousand dol- 
lars worth of stock certificates, and take your 
note secured by the stock for that amount ; in 
this way you will receive a large annual divi- 
dend and a handsome salary as our attorney,” 
said Priest with a seducive smile. 

“Thank you, Mr. Priest,” replied the Sena- 
tor, with hypocritical indifference; “I will 
accept your proposition, feeling that I commit 
no wrong, either in the purchase of the stock, 
or in the practice of my profession while ab- 
sent from the Federal Capital; but I suggest 
that you issue the stock certificates in your own 
name, and endorse them over to me : in this way, 
my interest in the company will not be known 
to the public, as I wish this whole transaction to 
remain confidential between us.” 


24 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Senator, I appreciate the step you have just 
taken, and I assure you that in the future our 
interests shall in part become yours, and our 
mutual interests shall forever destroy the de- 
structive elements so madly combating us on 
every side,’’ said Priest, triumphantly. 

‘ ‘ What are your plans as to meeting the troub- 
les now brewing in Texas?” asked the Senator. 

“In addition to your salary as our attorney, 
I will pay you now three thousand, three hun- 
dred dollars, so that you may meet your obliga- 
tions in Kentucky at once, and accompany our 
attorney and myself to Texas tonight in my 
private car, which will leave for the South at 
ten thirty p. m. Have you any suggestions to 
offer. Senator?” 

“In my opinion, it will be best for me to get 
off at Waco, and try to get the case dismissed, 
that is now pending there, while you and your 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


25 


other attorney go on to Austin, where I shall 
meet you as soon as I wind up affairs in Waco. 
Then, we will tussle with the Attorney-General 
and Secretary of State for a new license to do 
business, as I feel sure I can convince 
them that the Brooks-Priest Oil Company 
is independent of the Gigantic, and entirely free 
from its poisonous influences. But if we 
fail in this, we can go through the subter- 
fuge of a dissolution of the offending corpora- 
tion, and the organization of a new one, for 
which we will receive our charter, and continue 
business at the same old stand. ' ’ 

‘‘Senator, I thank you for your assurance in 
this matter, and hope you will manage our affairs 
down there in such a manner as to carry our 
standard to victory, ’ ^ replied Priest, with enthu- 
siasm, as he handed the Senator a check for the 
promised amount. 


26 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


‘H wish to give you my note for this check, 
in the same manner as I did for the stock cer- 
tificates, as I want all payments made by you 
to me to appear as loans.” 

^‘Certainly; if you wish it that way, I will 
keep these notes with my own private papers, 
and have the three thousand, three hundred 
dollars entered upon the books of the company 
as expense of anti-trust litigation; and if the 
time ever comes when we wish to prove these 
transactions as lonas, we shall have the notes to 
speak for themselves, and in that way untangle 
the net which may be thrown around us, and 
with these instruments escape the intricate 
meshes holding us.” 

^‘Do you know the County Attorney of Me 
Lennan County?” asked Priest, as the shadow 
of deep anxiety passed over his features. 

“Why, I guess I do!” exclaimed the Sena- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


27 


tor proudly : ‘ * George St. Clair is now the At- 
torney of McLennan County, and with that boy 
there, as the Statens Attorney we will have an- 
other Wellington’s Waterloo.” 

“Is that so? You are then sure of satis^ 
factory results in Waco?” 

“Why, certainly I am,” answered the Sena^ 
tor; “George St. Clair would not dare oppose 
a single desire of mine. I am his god-father; I 
took him when he was an orphaned child, and 
educated him in the best schools of our State; 
I placed him in the law department of the State 
University, from which he graduated with high- 
est honors; then I gave him a start in his pro- 
fession. Ah, sir, we shall find there a sharp 
edged tool, and as bright a legal gem as even 
flashed from Cerebrum’s crown.” 

“This is indeed interesting. Senator, and ai>- 
peals to me very forcibly; and because of the 


28 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ties existing between you and the young man, 
I feel sure he will grant any wish you may ask 
that comes within his power. 

^‘But how did you come to adopt him? Who 
were his parents, and what became of them?^* 

‘‘The story of his life is rather a pathetic 
one; we found him in an orphanage in New 
York, and, as we had no children of our own, 
my wife took a fancy to the little fellow, so we 
brought him to Texas, and in our home he grew 
to manhood as our own son, where he was loved 
by wife and me with as much affection and de- 
votion as tho ’ our own. blood coursed through 
his veins.’’ 

“And you know nothing of his parents?” 
asked Priest. 

“Not a thing; his parentage is a mystery.” 

“Then how is it that he bears the name of 


= George St.Clair?” 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


29 


When we took him from the orphanage, he 
was about two years of age, and of course 
too young to remember his parents, and, as we 
could find out nothing at the orphanage con- 
cerning the child, we trusted to luck, and 
took him because of his bright appearance ; 
but, as we were uncertain as to his ancestry and 
the quality of his blood, we thought it best to 
give him a name other than our own; so, to- 
make a long story short, we named the little 
fellow George St.Clair/’ 

**The name St.Clair strikes the tenderest cord 
of my heart. Our first born was a boy, and in 
honor of my college chum at Ann Arbor, we 
gave our baby that name, and when he was 
about a year old, we took him with us on our 
summer trip to Europe; returning to America, 
a short distance from Long Island, our 
vessel collided with another in a fog, and 


30 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


within a few moments was rapidly filling 
with water. The captain gave up the ship 
as doomed, and as the life-boats were being 
lowered, our nurse with the baby in her arms, 
was separated from us by the awful stampede 
of panic-stricken passengers. As every one on the 
doomed vessel had been ushered into life-boats, 
we felt they were safe in one of them, and as 
there were two steamers coming to our 
rescue, we realized that it would not be 
long until we would find the nurse and our 
baby again on board one of the rescuing vessels ; 
but those bright hopes became awful fears when 
the news came to us that one of the life-boats 
went down, and all on board perished. 
"We searched the vessel we were on, but to no 
avail; the nurse and baby could not be found. 
After a few hours we reached New York, and a 
"thorough search was made among the passeng- 


THE NOBLEST HOMAN. 


31 


ers on board the other steamer, but 
they were not among them, so our hearts were 
torn into bleeding threads when the awful reali- 
zation of our fears became apparent that our 
baby had gone down to a watery grave. Par- 
don me. Senator, for relating to you this sad 
occurrence in my life, but, when you mentioned 
the name of your foster-son, it brought 
fresh to my memory the name of my dead child. * ^ 

■^^The bodies were never found?” asked the 
Senator sympathetically. 

‘ ‘ No ! The last we saw of our baby was just 
•a few moments before we were separated by 
the jam of terror-smitten passengers on board 
the wrecked vessel.” 

^ ‘ That must have been an awful shock to your 
wife. ’ ^ 

“Yes, indeed! That was almost thirty years 
ago, but she still grieves over the loss of the 


32 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


baby, and on every voyage across the Atlantic 
since that time, the roar of the sea brings only 
to her ears the childish cries of the lost one. 
But back to our subject: 

“Senator, are you on intimate terms with the 
Attorney-General of Texas?” 

“Yes; Attorney-General Smitherton and^' I 
were school boys together, and in common we 
shared the joys and sorrows of boyhood; there- 
fore, the sacred memories of the past assure an 
easily won victory in the Attorney-General’s 
office.” 

* ‘ I hope so, but I am afraid the officials down 
there already scent a mouse,” replied Priest, as 
he moved nervously in his chair. 

‘ * Mr. Priest, I shall depend upon my influence 
in Texas among her high officials to win our 
point, and with that enchanting, enveloping 
element of my nature, I am perfectly confldent 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


33 


of returning with laurels of victory from that 
field of conquest, ’ ’ asserted Senator Bradley with 
his characteristic egotism, 

* ‘ Senator, I believe in you we have found the 
man who will successfully assist us in raising 
again our sceptre over the broad fields of Texas ! ’ * 
exclaimed Priest in a sanguine tone. 

am the only man that can bring your com- 
pany back into Texas, as I control the most 
powerful machine ever operated within its bord- 
ers, and with it I have the power either to bless 
your interests with the sunshine of heaven, or 
curse them with the blasts of hell.’’ 

“Well, Senator, give us the sunshine, and save 
the blasts of hell for our enemies,” laughed 
Priest good-naturedly. 

“You may rest assured of that, my dear 
Priest, for I must confess that I am becoming 
exceedingly interested in the affairs of your com- 
pany, the progress of which startles the world,” 
replied Senator Bradley, as the glow of avari- 
cious admiration flushed his cheeks. 

“I thank you again. Senator, for re-kindling 
within me this fire of hope, and with you as the 


34 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


great and mighty champion of our cause, I feel 
that we have built a bulwark around our com- 
pany that is so immensely strong that our ag- 
gressive offenders will find it indestructible.'^ 

‘‘I suppose that great bulwark of defense is 
composed of dead senators' bones, and cemented 
together with their blood," laughed Bradley, 
^s he unintentionally expressed a great truth. 

That night a private car carrying an ignoble 
^trio, sped on toward the peaceful land of 
sunshine and flowers. Each hour drew this 
gang of cowardly, perverted depredators and po- 
litical bush-whackers to their point of conquest. 
There, with the sword of influence drawn, its 
scabbard thrown away, they waged a ruthless 
war against the laws and lamp-lighted homes of 
the Texas land, until their oil-spotted banner, 
]hanging with the laurels of a cowardly fought 
vmnd ill won battle, waved in triumph over the 
^defenceless homes of the laboring people. The 
governor, Attorney-General, and Secretary of 
State stood firmly for the rights of the people 
against their contending foes, and defended to 
the uttermost the ouster) judgment rendered 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


35 


against the Brooks-Priest Oil Company in favor 
of the State of Texas, but the poisonous influence 
of the venomous tongued Senator paralyzed the 
judgment of the honest Attorney-General, 
wrenching from him the promise to permit a new 
organization of the old company to file their 
charter and re-enter the State, provided they 
sever all connections with the Gigantic Oil Com- 
pany or any other trust, and return to the peo- 
ple of Texas with clean hands. This was an 
easy task for the artificer of the would-be re- 
born trust; for, all to be done now was for the 
truant Senator of the United States’ Congress 
to reclothe with a new cloak this corporation 
of corruption, and introduce as a queenly virgin 
the fair-faced prostitute to a virtuous populace. 


“The hypocrite had left his mask, and stood 
In naked ugliness. He was a man 
Who stole the livery of the court of heaven 
To serve the devil in.” 


36 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


CHAPTER II. 

S the day wrapped itself in the 
grey draperies of evening-tide, 
and as the sinking sun showered 
bright gold upon the mazarine 
hills of. the west, a private Pullman car moved 
slowly from the union depot of the beautiful 
capital city of Texas, and was soon lost in the sil- 
ence of the woodland and thick gathering dark- 
ness of aproaching night. Within this palace 
on wheels sat the same three who, during the 
day, unscrupulously deflowered the virtue of 
dame Texas, and not content with the day’s 
ravishment, were now plotting the seduction of 
the civic virtue of Themis to appease their burn- 
ing passions for gold. 

As the wheeled hell of Satan rolled on toward 
the city of Waco, the trusted Senator of Texas, 
the political ingrate, sat at a desk inspecting 



THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


37 


various written instruments, which he was to 
basely use as the agency through which to plun- 
der the masses of their scanty earnings, that he 
might provide gratification for the unlawful 
lust of a commercial pirate. It was far into 
the night when the last of their many atrocious 
plans were laid for the morrow’s battle; when 
traitors of the Iscariot mould would sally forth 
to strike with mortal blows the fire-sides of our 
land, and, 

“For their own nefarious' ends, 

Tread upon Freedom and her friends.” 

The vigilant stars of the early morning were 
rapidly fading into a seeming nothingness; the 
king of day rose in the east from his nightly 
couch, and proceeded slowly to mount his noon- 
day throne, as the palace car of Henry Priest 
with its despicable human cargo stood on the 
track in front of the depot in Waco. The three 
slumbering conspirators, weary and tired from 
the effects of thein strenuous and 'dastardly 
work of the previous day and night, slept on 
undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of the 
awakening city. As her laboring sons went 


38 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


forth with their dinner-pails to honestly toil 
for the bare necessities of home, they were un- 
mindful of the palace car, within which the 
prince of plutocracy wrapped in the draperies 
of his silken couch was sleeping away the re- 
freshing hours of the morning, while his two 
hirelings, the honorable villains, were dreaming 
their way toward Elysian fields. 

After a late and dainty breakfast. Priest, 
Bradley, and their attorney were driven in a 
closed carriage to the law office of George St. 
Clair, the county attorney of McLennan county. 
He was busily engaged at his desk, as the fiend- 
ish marauders entered to “beard the lion in his 
den, the Douglas in his hall!” 

As they approached, St.Clair looked up, and 
recognizing at once the guardian of his youth, 
sprang to his feet, grasped the hand of the Sen- 
ator, and with the other arm thrown around his 
waist, drew him to his breast in one strong and 
long embrace, which, during the silence of the 
moment, spoke a language more eloquent than 
the tongues of men could utter, or the brush 
of the artist picture. So great was St.Clair ^s 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


39 


joy in meeting again the man who took him 
as his protege, and lifted him to a pinnacle of 
honor, that he did not notice the presence of the 
two remaining gentlemen, until Senator Brad- 
ley turned and presented them to him. St.Clair 
greeted them kindly, and in a few moments all 
were seated around the desk. 

After conversing for awhile upon various sub- 
jects of local interest. Senator Bradley intro- 
duced the issue of the hour into the conversa- 
tion, by exclaiming after a few moments silence, 
“By the way, George, I have come here to ask 
a favor of you — 

“Granted, sir, anything you may ask,’^ inter- 
rupted St.Clair, as a smile lighted his face, 
kindled by the thought that he was at last en- 
abled to be of material service to his benefactor 
of the past. 

“Thank you, my boy,” said the Senator, as 
he drew his chair closer to St.Clair. “I have 
always felt, since I established you in your pro- 
fession here, that should I ever be in need of 
your assistance I would find your arms ex- 
tended to aid me — . ’ ’ 


40 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘'And my heart given to your cause without 
a single reserve !” exclaimed St.Clair. 

“Then I shall expect your hands and heart 
to aid me now,” replied the Senator, as he con- 
tinued. “When I heard of the suit against the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company, alleging its connec- 
tion with the Gigantic Oil Trust, and knowing 
that you were to prosecute the case, I wished to 
supply you with strong evidence with which to 
substantiate your charges, therefore I took an 
active part in investigating the relationship be- 
tween the Brooks-Priest Oil Company and the 
Gigantic Oil Trust. After a thorough exami- 
nation into their business affairs, I was surprised 
to find that the charges against them were com- 
pletely groundless, and that a judgment against 
the members of this company would be an act of 
utter persecution; therefore, my dear boy, in 
the name of justice and honor dismiss this suit, 
and you shall be paid a liberal fee for the time 
you have spent on the case.” 

“Senator, if the charges against the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company are untrue, its members 
shall not be suffered to pay one cent, either as 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


41 


a judgment or an attorney’s fee.” 

‘‘Then you will dismiss the suit?” asked the 
Senator hopefully. 

“The Supreme court of the State has decreed 
that the Brooks-Priest Oil Company is a part 
of the Gigantic Oil Trust, and, as an officer of 
the law, sworn to do my duty, I can not dismiss 
this suit.” 

“But you have the power,” urged the Sena- 
tor. 

“I may have the power, but its sacredness 
shall not be desecrated to the detriment of my 
people,” answered St.Clair calmly. 

‘ ‘ But is it a desecration of power to administer 
justice?” asked the Senator emphatically. 

“Ah, no. Senator! But, being subservient to 
this decree of the highest tribunal of the land, I 
shall prosecute this suit unto the bitter end.” 

‘ ‘ My boy, you have taken a radical stand ; let 
not only the memories of the past, pregnant with 
our mutual friendship, but let justice and right 
guide you in this matter to a more merciful con- 
sideration of the case.” 

“Sir, I can not temper justice with mercy. 


42 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


In order to execute the demands of justice, we 
must necessarily be cruel. As for friendshiip, it 
is the holiest gift of God, but, when it wanders 
away unguided from its divinely appointed 
sphere to defeat the ends of justice, it becomes 
as a raving demon, seeking whom it may de- 
vour. ’ ^ 

Priest and his attorney up to this time had 
remained silent, trusting alone to the Senator's 
influence over the young attorney as the only 
avenue to victory, but as this power seemed as 
ineffective as pebbles against a granite wall, 
Priest spoke up and said: 

‘‘Mr. St.Clair, it is not our mission here to 
prey upon the vitals of justice; we only ask at 
your hands a fair deal, and are willing to com- 
promise this suit.’’ 

“It is our purpose to give you a fair deal, Mr. 
Priest, but, when compromise has a place, scrut- 
iny becomes stone blind, and precedence goes in 
truck. ’ ’ 

“George, who is assisting you in this prosecu- 
tion?” asked Senator Bradley in a vexed tone. 

“Henry Striblert, your old friend and col- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


43 


lege chum/’ answered St.Clair in a serious tone. 

‘‘What, my old friend Striblert!” exclaimed 
Senator Bradley in astonishment. “I must see 
him; where is his office?” 

After receiving this information, and after a 
few remarks Senator Bradley excused himself 
and with the attorney left the room. 

The hell-hounds, as ungorg’d with flesh and blood 
pursue their prey, and seek their wonted food! 

Now, all alone with his righteous contestant. 
Priest, the corporate vampire, began his intrig- 
uish work of bombarding the moral barricades 
of the common people, which at this time were 
being protected by their loyal defender, ‘The 
Noblest Roman of them all! 

“In action faithful, and in honor clear!” 

“Mr. St.Clair, we have just settled matters 
down at Austin satisfactorily. We have re-or- 
ganized, filed our charter, and a permit has 
been issued to us to pursue business in Texas; 
we have now come back to Waco in the hope of 
settling our troubles here, and I now make you 
my final proposition: — I will pay the State a 
judgment of ten thousand dollars and attorney’s 


44 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


fee of three thousand, provided you dismiss the 
criminal case against me. ’ ’ 

‘^Mr. Priest, the State pays this fee by giving 
a certain per cent of the judgment, and to accept 
it in any other way would he but little less than 
bribery. No, the judgment named is too small, 
and, as far as the criminal case is concerned, 
and, as far as lies in my power, it shall not be 
dismissed until properly tried and disposed of,” 
replied St. Clair warmly. 

“What is your compromise judgment?” asked 
Priest. 

“Twenty-five thousand dollars, and not one 
cent less,” answered St.Clair. 

“And for this judgment you also dismiss the 
criminal suit?” asked Priest eagerly. 

“Emphatically no! You have been for four 
years a fugitive from justice, and the State has 
tried to extradite you without success.” 

“I will not pay this compromise judgment of 
twenty-five thousand unless the criminal case 
is dismissed; this is my ultimatum.” 

“I refuse your terms.” 

“You are now my only stumbling block in 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


45 . 


Texas, and it is madness, yes, ntter madness, for 
yon to attempt the fearful task of extracting the 
breath of life from an unoffending corpora- 
tion!’^ exclaimed Priest, as he crossed over and 
occupied the chair vacated by Senator Bradley. 

^‘Do you mean to insinuate, sir, that I am 
persecuting you, that I am dealing unfairly with 
you and your company?” asked St. Clair 
sharply. 

‘‘Pardon me, Mr. St.Clair, I did not mean to 
cast such a reflection, but, realizing as I do our 
commercial purity; our freedom from sinister 
acts, I feel that we are today the victims of in- 
justice. ’ ’ 

“Your business in Texas met its death through, 
suicide and not from the assissin ’s dagger, as its 
suicidal hand injected into the vitals of its body 
the deadly venom of a poisonous trust. It may 
be madness in my part to exert my powers in 
driving from the boundaries of this State a 
cancerous institution, but if this be madness, I 
glory, sir, in its righteous course.” 

“I do not question for one moment the hon- 
esty of your convictions, for I believe you are 


46 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


conscientiously battling against us, but I feel 
that a great prejudicial cataract obscures your 
moral vision to such an extent that the spotless- 
white robes of our corporation appear to you 
dark and polluted. If we are the commercial 
cut-throats you have so vehemently described, 
why is it that the civical chaste Senator of your 
State is such an aggressive ally in our defense? 
Is this not in itself sufficient proof of our com- 
mercial purity?” 

‘‘Mr. Priest, I love Senator Bradley as I 
would love a father; in fact he has been to me 
the only father I ever knew, and it wounds me 
sorely to find myself placed in a position where I 
can not acquiesce in his wishes upon this sub- 
ject, but I believe the true status of your com- 
pany has been misrepresented to the Senator, 
and where he should have seen its dark shadows, 
he beheld only the radiance of its glory,” re- 
plied St. Clair, sadly. 

‘ ‘ St.Clair, you are the foster-son of my friend. 
Senator Bradley, therefore, I feel a deep inter- 
est in your welfare, and would be glad to lift 
you from the unpretentious office of county attor- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


47 


ney to an attorneyship in this State for our new 
company, as I see before you a most brilliant 
future, a genius among men,” answered Priest, 
flatteringly. 

‘‘I thank you, sir, for the compliment, and, 
while it is my ambition to become a genius among 
men, a God-fearing genius, a genius beneficient 
and powerful enough to lift the oppressive bur- 
dens from the shoulders of my people, that they 
may rise unfettered to higher peaks of glory, 
I therefore can not accept your offer, as a lavish- 
ment from your hand would be the same as tho’ 
I had pierced the blood- veins of the daily labor- 
ers, and had taken from the crimson stream 
meandering there, drops of human gore. ’ ’ 

‘‘What do you mean by such a statement?” 
asked Priest in a perplexed tone. 

“I mean that the offices you have power to 
All are but agencies of moral carnage ; that your 
money is blood-money.” 

“Oh, St.Clair, throw away forever such fool- 
ish notions, be a man; feel as a man; do as a 
man; and be not the victim of foolish sentimen- 
talisms that are rolling over our land today 


48 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


as a great tidal wave, burying men with talents 
beneath their fury.” 

‘ ^ The man is more to be blessed, who is a mar- 
tyr to the people’s cause, than he who is a liv- 
ing instrument in the hands of unscrupulous 
pirates. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Our coropration is not a piracy, but a legiti- 
mate institution, in the name of which I offer 
you an attorneyship at a salary of five thousand 
dollars. ’ ’ 

^^As I said before, I can not accept your offer. 
I am not a traificer of principle; I neither buy 
nor sell it; I am not worth buying, but what I 
am, the wealth of the world can not buy nor the 
touch of Midas tarnish,” replied St.Clair bold- 
ly. 

‘ ‘ I meant no insinuation whatever, detrimental 
to your high sense of honor. My proposition to 
you was as a would-be client to his would-be 
attorney,” pleaded Priest. 

“I am, as you know, county attorney of Mc- 
Lennan County, and in addition to this oflSce, 
I have been elected Exalted Knight of the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


49 


‘Knights of the Laboring Clan/ therefore my 
services are engaged.’’ 

“By the way, St. Clair, what is the object and 
nature of this new organization that has sprung 
like magic in the ranks of the laboring people ? ’ ’ 

“Mr. Priest, while this is a new organization, 
yet its principles are as old as the hills, and by 
the grace of God they shall he as everlasting as 
eternity. Its objects are to impede the advance- 
ment of plutocracy into their ranks, and to des- 
troy forever the oppressions that crush them 
down,” replied St.Clair proudly. 

“Very worthy objects indeed,” smiled Priest, 
“but don’t you think there is a great incon- 
sistency in forming a trust to destroy a trust?” 
“There is a marked distinction between the two 
so-called trusts; the combination of capital is- 
offensive, while the combination of labor is de- 
fensive. It would be nonsense, and destructive 
to the people of this nation, to remain unorgani- 
zed while a foreign nation invaded our country 
with an organized and disciplined army. Sq 
it is with labor unions, they had to combine them- 
selves into one great clan in order to combat 


50 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the opressive forces of combined wealth, there- 
fore, from amid the thorns of an ungodly mono- 
poly, sprang the beautiful flower of a righteous 
combination. The blessings of God shall be its 
sunshine, and the tears of a grateful people the 
refreshing dew that vitalizes its fragrant petals. ’ ^ 

‘‘St.Clair, you have a wrong impression of 
eagital and capitalist; you look upon capital as 
^ great burden pressing down upon the masses ; 
you associate the capitalist with the high-way 
robber, who, in the dead of night and in secret, 
plunders vaults of their contents.” 

“My dear sir,” replied St.Clair, “you part- 
ially mistake my conception of this subject. 
Capital exerted as it should be would become the 
buoy by which the laboring people are 
held up, but through combinations of illgained 
wealth, it becomes as a mill-stone tied to their 
.necks. As for the capitalist, I wish I could 
liken him unto a great octopus, whose tentacles 
il^ach into; eyery hovel of this nation, infusing 
Kudst the higher and grander comforts 
of life But, ail, how different is this picture in 
reality, the capitalist of today is destitute of the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


51 


spirit of philanthropy, and as the cruel octopus 
of finance, his slimy tentacles have coiled them- 
selves around the hearth-stones of the poor of 
our land instilling into their sanctuary the poi- 
sons of a mixed plutocratic venom, and in re- 
turn takes from its scantily-filled coffers, the 
hard-earned comforts of life. Yes, you are 
right, continued St.Clair, “I look upon such 
capitalists as robbers; ah, more than robbers: 
Not being content with the people ’s money, 
damp with the perspiration of hard la- 
bor, and with the tears of poverty, they 
enter into the little kingdoms of God, kingdoms 
where even angels tread with reverence, and 
move with silent wing, and there they rob the 
souls of men of their civic virtue, as the bee robs 
the flower of its honey.’’ 

At this juncture, Senator Bradley, Henry 
Striblert, and the attorney entered the room, 
and, after the usual greetings, and conversa- 
tional preliminaries to the main subject of the 
morning, Henry Striblert exclaimed, “By the 
way, St. Clair, since the short conference over my 
office a few moments ago with my friend. Senator 


52 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Bradley, my eyes have been opened, and I see 
more plainly what I believe to be the true con- 
dition of affairs regarding the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company and its relation to the Gigantic Oil 
Trust.” 

^‘What is the nature of the picture that has 
so suddenly been revealed to you?” asked St. 
Clair in astonishment. 

“I see a picture of condemned innocence stag- 
gering beneath the assassin’s hand, with the 
dagger of persecution rankling in its bosom,” 
replied Striblert with feigned seriousness. 

“Then you believe the decision of the Sup- 
reme Court erroneous,” said St.Clair. 

“I do, and it is my intention to follow the 
dictates of my conscience and pursue this case 
no farther, and I believe it is your duty as the 
attorney of this county to exert every effort to- 
ward the dismissal of this suit, for I am sure it 
is not your purpose to chastise the innocent with 
the lash of persecution.” 

“Mr. Striblert, I assure you it is not my in- 
tention to use the lash of persecution in any 
case, but I am convinced that the Brooks-Priest 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


53 


Oil Company is nothing more than the bastardly 
offspring of an ignoble sire, who, in the 
haunts of commercial shame lives the life 
of a corporate prostitute, and that the decis- 
ion of the court was nothing but majestic justice, 
mailed in civic righteousness, wielding her sword 
in defense of oppressed humanity, therefore I 
shall remain as I am, honored as her armor- 
bearer, executing my privileged commission by 
drawing my sword and slaying every interest 
that dares to invade the land of the free for the 
purpose of placing shackles upon the defence- 
less.^^ 

“George, Striblert is right; our State needs 
every legitimate commercial enterprise she can 
get, and instead of lifting your hands to whip 
them from our midst and across her borders, 
you should raise them in the protection of un- 
offending interests which in the course of their 
business will develop this State from its commer- 
cial crudeness, and it is in this connection, 
George, that I wish to impress upon you your 
duty to the people of Texas; for, in doing so, I 
speak in the fullness of my representative capa- 


54 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


city for the welfare of her people who have 
honored me with their trust and confidence,’^ 
said Senator Bradley, in a tone of patriotic ten- 
derness. 

“And is this why you are here today with 
Mr. Priest?” asked St. Clair. 

“Certainly, George. I would be in Washing- 
ton now but I felt that I could serve my people 
better by being here. I hope my trip to Waco 
will not be fruitless, and that you will see the 
error of your course and dismiss this case. If 
you do so I will see that you are paid a liberal 
fee.” 

‘ ‘ Sir, I am sorry that circumstances are 
such as to render the granting of your request 
impossible,” replied St.Clair, as he leaned for- 
ward in his chair, and picked up from the floor 
a folded paper, which he opened and read. 

“St.Clair, in this stand you have taken against 
my wishes, you become an ingrate, and act a 
thankless part on consideration for what I have 
done for you in the past,” said Senator Brad- 
ley, as he folded his arms upon his breast. 

‘ ‘ Ah, Sir, it stabs me to the heart to 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


55 


think you fostered my youth for such nefarious 
ends ; that you would have me betray my people 
at the hour they need me most. For God’s sake 
look with deep compassion upon our reeling 
country, and before it is too late, drop the dag* 
ger from the uplifted hand of her betrayer, that 
it may be plunged to the hilt into the heart 
of her oppressor.” 

“What do you mean by branding me as the 
betrayer of my country?” cried Senator Brad- 
ley, indignantly. 

“I mean that you are selling your country to 
a monopoly for the same purpose that actuated 
Judas to sell his Christ to the Jews.” 

“My God!. My God!” cried Bradley, as he 
rose passionately to his feet. “You have cruelly 
misjudged the sacred motives of my heart that 
prompt me in the service of my country — . ’ ’ 

“Then I suppose you mark me as a traitor 
because I have withdrawn from the field of 
battle to take a stand upon impartial ground, 
and because I bear a neutral heart to your acts 
of base perseceution, ” interrupted Striblert, in 
a voice of deep anger. 


56 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


‘‘Striblert, it is basely criminal for an officer 
to desert his army upon the field of battle when 
shot and shell are falling thick and fast, and, 
when he deserts his post of honor for the 
enemy’s gold, he becomes a cursed hireling — ” 
‘‘St.Clair! You are slandering us upon the 
quick-stands of presumption, and the falsity of 
your accusation will inevitably weight you down 
to your political death,” interposed Priest, as 
he looked savagely into the face of his accuser. 

“Then I would rather go down to defeat re- 
taining the confidence of my people, than to rise 
to high estate on the wings of ill-gotten glory, 
for 


‘When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, 
The post of honor is a private station!’ ” 


“George, in the fever of your irrationality 
you made allegations that are false. Can you 
prove them?” asked Senator Bradley, boldly. 

“Yes, Sir, I can prove them, and in doing 
so I will use your own instruments of treachery 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


57 


which like a thunderbolt will arouse the nation 
to 

“ ‘Strike — for their alters and their fires; 

Strike — for the green graves of their sires; 

God, and their native land!’ ” 

“You insult me by such a statement!” ex- 
claimed Senator Bradley, as his face turned 
pale. “I demand your proof at once.” 

“Then you shall have what you demand, and 
you may take it for what it is worth,” replied 
St.Clair, as he unfolded again the papers he 
found on the floor. “Senator, these two papers 
condemn you, and it is with a broken heart I 
read them to you. The first one is as follows: 

$1500 Waco, Texas, May 10, 

Four months after date I promise to pay to 
the order of Henry Priest, fifteen hundred dol- 
lars at his office in St. Louis, Mo. Value re- 
ceived Henry Striblert. 

“Striblert, I now see why you follow the dic- 
tates of your conscience in pursuing this case 
no farther. I demand that you withdraw from 


58 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the suit at once, as I wish an honest man as my 
associate counsel. Now, Sir, the next paper 
I have here, and, which I found folded with the 
note just read, connects you with as damnable 
a plot as was ever conceived,^’ said St. Clair, 
as he proceeded to read the letter. 

St. Louis, Mo., April — , 

My Dear Bradley: — 

I regret very much that business has 
called be from St. Louis at this time, as I wished 
to present you to Priest in person, but I enclose 
a letter of introduction which will serve the 
purpose. If you play your cards well you can 
secure enough from Priest for your services in 
Texas to pay in full your indebtedness on the 
Gibbons ranch. Wishing you success in your 
conference with Priest, I am as ever. 

Your friend, 

David B. Francot. 

“St.Clair, the amount loaned Mr. Striblert 
has no connection with the pending suits, and 
the letter you have just read was written by my 
friend Francot, in which he suggests that I ask 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


59 


a sufficient amount for my services as an attor- 
ney for Mr. Priest, services which I have rend- 
ered honestly for my client and with true fidelity 
to the people of my State,’’ explained Senator 
Bradley, as he lowered his head upon his breast. 

‘ ‘ Ah, Sir, your open fidelity to the peo- 
ple of Texas is but a subterfuge, while your 
plottings behind closed doors with monopolies 
are treacherous — .” 

‘^But have we not a right to be represented 
by legal talent?” asked Priest, abruptly. 

‘‘You have that right, sir,” answered St.Clair, 
sternly. 

“Then why do you consider it criminal for 
us to attempt to exercise this right through you, 
Senator Bradley, or Mr. Striblert, as our at- 
torney ? ’ ’ asked Priest. 

“Because it is a crime as black as the waters 
of Acheron for you to enter the ranks of the 
opposing forces and seek to transform their 
trusted, leaders into heartless traitors.” 

“St.Clair, you are laboring under a wrong 
impression, or rather a wild delusion. The prop- 
osition I made you was this : Resign your office 


60 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


of comity attorney, become our State represen- 
tative, and openly defend our interests.” 

‘‘To openly defend your interest would be to 
destroy it, for every thread in that corporate 
fabric is as rotten as the stenchy fibres of a de- 
composed carcass,” answered St.Clair, as he rose 
to his feet. 

“Can you afford to sacrifice an annual salary 
of five thousand dollars upon the altar of eccen- 
tric morality?” pleaded Priest. 

“I can not afford to act the poltroon, desert 
my people, and damn my soul in hell for all your 
tainted millions,” cried St. Clair, as his eyes 
flashed the fire of keen resentment. 

“Well what terms will you make?” asked 
Priest persistently. 

“No terms of compromise,” cried St.Clair. 
“I have as much confidence in the integrity of 
you and your company, as I have in the harm- 
lessness of a poisonous reptile coiled in the grass 
awaiting to strike its unsuspecting victim. Our 
conference it now at an end. Go, get away from 
here you brazen-faced, fiint-hearted specimens 
of perversed humanity. You will find it hard 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


61 


for your velvet feet to kick against the bricks/’ 
said St.Clair, angrily, as he motioned the arch- 
enemies of his country from the room. 

‘‘Damn you, you sentimental ingrate; if you 
value your life you will place a stiff bridle upon 
your tongue!’’ exclaimed Senator Bradley, as 
he and his fellow conspirators left the office. 


“Is there not some chosen curse, 

Some hidden thunder in the stores of heaven 
Red with uncommon wrath, to blast the man. 
Who owes his greatness to his country’s ruin?’* 


62 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER III. 



HE brightness of the early morn- 
ing vanished as the transcendent 
glory of its heavenly charms 


were swept away by the gath- 
ering clouds over head. A cold Texas 
norther was winging its way in a terrific 
flight, driving a thick mist before it, and sway- 
ing the branches of the trees to and fro as a 
ship tossed by the waves of a tempestuous sea. 
As ^olus with violent anger wielded the 
sceptre of his fury, it seemed as tho’ all vege- 
tation yellowed by the summer’s sun, united 
in one common effort to still the storm by pay- 
ing a tribute of golden leaves to the on rush- 
ing wind. 

“The day is cold, and dark and dreary; 

It rains, and the wind is never weary; 

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, 
But at every gust the dead leaves fall. 

And the day is dark and dreary.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


63 


Lucile Graham and her visiting friend, Kate 
Hewett of St. Louis, were sitting in the library 
of the Graham home, each absorbed in the fiction 
that charmed her most. Lucile was thought- 
fully delving into the fascinating Iliad of Homer 
while light-hearted Kate throwing aside the 
Odyssey as “mythical stuff which should not 
be countenanced in this mythoclastic age,’’ 
was inattentively turning the pages of ‘St. El- 
mo,” resting her eyes only upon passages con- 
taining expressions of the most passionate love. 

During the past week the two girls had been 
busy planning for their party on Halloween 
eve. Each invited guest was to appear as the 
representation of some spirit; the ghosts of the 
blest and unblest were to mingle together re- 
gardless of spiritual cast. Uncle Ned, an old 
exslave of the Graham household, who for many 
years has borne a reputation as the matchless 
architect of pumpkin-faced demons, was found 
very handy in preparing these grim decora- 
tions. 

“Oh, this horrid weather!” cried Kate as she 
pushed aside the curtains from the window, and 


64 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


looked out upon the raging storm. 

^‘My dear,’’ laughed Lucile, as she joined Kate 
at the window, ^Vyou should not speak so ir- 
reverently of one of our invited guests, as this 
is the chariot in which JEolus is being driven 
to our party, therefore, you should feel proud 
that such a distinguished god is to honor us with 
his presence. 

^‘Ah, Lucile! I was thinking of a more tan- 
gible god who is to come tomorrow in a more 
feasible manner,” replied Kate, as she pressed 
her warm cheek against the chilled window pane. 

“Hansford Kalab may be| your god, 
but the spirit within my breast, aflame with the 
fires of cruel disfranchisement, inspires a fan- 
cied light to high pinnacles of supremancy where 
I enthrone myself above the mastery of any 
man, ’ ’ said Lucile proudly. 

“Then I suppose I may style you as the 
goddess of George St.Clair’s worship, who, 
through the magnetic influence of your various 
charms, submissively bends his knee in sup- 
pliance,” said Kate with a sarcastic smile. 

“You described George as being very 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


65 


flexible ; on the contrary, he has an iron 
will that bends only to the commands of 
honor and justice. He is the kind of a man 
every girl loves, and feels honored when that 
love penetrates the heart and is reciprocated. ^ ’ 

“Now, you little silly daffe,” answered Kate, 
teasingly, “you do not understand my meta- 
phorical expression, — of course it is because of 
a thoroughly developed spirit of Southern 
chivalry that he bends his knee in loyalty and 
devotion before the throne of the Queen of 
Hearts. ^ ’ 

“Of hearts, did you say?” asked Lucile in 
surprise. 

“Pardon me again, my dear. I should have 
said. Queen of his heart, the jealous and am- 
bitious queen.” 

“Kate, I hope that I am too practical for 
such queenly comparisons, as such pompous titles 
are obnoxious to me. Liken me rather to a pure, 
plain Southern girl, whose sole ambition is to 
so live as to bring happiness and joy to those 
around her, showering her greatest blessings, 
upon the toiling thousands.” 


66 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


Kate quickly looked up, and, with an aston- 
ished expression upon her face, stepped back 
from the window as she exclaimed, “What! 
You ! Lucile Graham ! An administering angel 
to the poor trash of this country. What do you 
jnean? Are you going to besmirch the dignity 
#of your father’s rank by casting his prestige 
dnto the midst of such an illiterate mass ? ’ ’ 

could not honor it more,” replied Lucile 
/defiantly, ‘^Por, among the common people are 
the purest fountains of civic honor; there, vir- 
tue is paramount where labor inspires vitality.” 

■^VBut your father’s lofty station, in which he 
has placed you as society’s choicest gem, rebels 
at such inconsistent sentiment.” 

“Kate, you are talking now without think- 
ing. Did society from her elevated status, reach 
down with her arms and lift my father to the 
social summit he has so proudly attained? Ah, 
no, my dear! The votes of the common people 
which made my father a judge, placed him there, 
and to them alone do I attribute the honors 
showered upon us from the lavish hand of so- 
ciety.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


67 


“You speak strangely, Lucile; I can not un- 
derstand why you have taken this position, un- 
less it is because of St.Clair’s influence over 
you. ’ ’ 

“No man has an influence over me,” answer- 
ed Lucile. “My conscience is the only dictator 
this side of Heaven which I recognize, and the 
only mandator I obey — .” 

“Has not George St. Clair spent the last few 
months in making passionate speeches over the 
State, agitating the minds of the people by his 
eccentric advocacies of radical reforms, both 
commercial and political?” interposed Kate. 
“Has he not called for a convention of the la- 
boring people in order to organize their several 
and distinct unions into one great Federation?” 

“He intends to centralize the power of the 
laboring people, thus destroying the shackles 
that weigh them down and impede their prog- 
ress. Oh, Kate! I glory in the courage of 
George St.Clair. My heart shall be forever with 
him in his brave endeavor to defend the weak; 
in his manly struggles to gain for them a pre- 
eminence over their oppressors. My sorrows 


68 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


shall enshroud his defeats with as much affec- 
tion as my joys entwine his triumphs.’’ 

^‘Why have you evaded an answer to my 
question?” asked Kate, as they left the window. 

‘‘If I have evaded an answer to any of your 
questions, I am not aware of the fact. Ask any 
question you desire, and I shall try my best to 
answer it fully.” 

“Why is it that you and St.Clair are both 
advocating the same principles, if neither one 
has been influenced by the other?” asked Kate 
with a broad smile. 

“I repeat, my dear, what I told you a mo- 
ment ago: St.Clair has not influenced me in 
this matter; it was I who influenced him to 
strike in defense of the alters of the American 
home; it was I who fanned into a flame the 
spark of resentment which smouldered in his 
heart ; a flame which I believe is soon to envelope 
the whole nation in its wrath, destroying every 
barrier between the sons of toil and an equitable 
compensation.” 

‘ ‘ Oh, Lucile ! ’ ’ cried Kate impetuously. ‘ ‘ How 
can you, the tenderest of your sex, offer your- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


69 


self as a sacrifice for the advancement of the 
riffraff, by hurling your feminality into the wild 
and stormy waters of political life.’' 

‘ ‘ Duty has called me to the field of action, and 
has animated me with the same spirit which 
actuated the noble-hearted Maid of Orleans — 

“In my mind’s fancy,” interrupted Kate, I 
see you robed in glittering tinsels, wearing a 
plumed hat, mounted on a snow-white steed, 
holding in your beautifully moulded hand a 
drawn sword, marshalling your stained faced 
and rough handed regimentals. I hear the sound 
of a drum, then the tramp, tramp of your de- 
generate band.” 

“The picture you have drawn of me is most 
beautiful. 0, more than that,” cried Lucile, as 
she clapped her hands together, “it is magnifi- 
cent. But you have misrepresented the grand 
army of men who are to rally beneath my stand- 
ard. Picture them, with brawny arms, tender 
hearts, with a determination to do and dare 
for the right, regardless of the cost of life or 
limb, then you shall have represented in a true 
light a thorough picture of the so-called com- 


70 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


mon people of our country.” 

^‘Lucile, we disagree as to -the quali- 
ties of the populace ; you fondly look upon them 
as gods of virtue and bravery, while I detest 
them as demi-devils. In spite of this diversity 
of opinion, we are friends, living so close to 
each other’s hearts, that it would be cruel, ah,it 
would he death to be torn from love’s embrace, 
destroying the tendrills of affection that bind 
us.” 

“For the loving worm within its clod 
Were diviner than a loveless god.” 

'‘My dear child,” exclaimed Lucile, as she 
leaned over and drew Kate to her bosom. Why 
do you look so sad; and what causes the tear 
upon your rosy cheek? Nothing shall ever 
break the bands of love that unite us.” 

“It seems that way, my dear,” replied Kate 
sadly, “but I feel that we are unconsciously 
drifting farther and farther apart upon the 
stormy seas of political and social issues. Upon 
one of the drifting vessels are you and George 
St.Clair, while upon the other are Hansford 
Kalab and myself.” 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


71 


‘‘My dear little pessimist/^ said Lucille affec- 
tionately, ‘ ‘ why should such issues estrange us T ’ 

“Because those we love most are leaders in 
this awful contention, each an adversary of the 
other. On one side, George St. Clair, as the 
champion of the masses, the promoter of the aw- 
ful and powerful Federation of Labor. On the 
other side, Hansford Kalab, the leader of the 
classes, the founder of the Royal League, which 
was organized for the purpose of retarding the 
progress of the masses. So you see, my dear,’^ 
said Kate as she twined her soft arm around 
Lucile’s neck; 

“ ‘On life’s vast ocean diversly we sail, 

Reason the card, but passion is the gale’.” 

As the hours of the day passed on toward the 
shades of evening-tide, the girls were busily en- 
gaged with their plans for their party of the 
next evening. The dark heavy clouds and sil- 
very mist had cleared away, and the golden 
sun sank into the bosom of the foliaged 
west. The next morning dawned clear and 
bright ; not a single cloud appeared to 
mar the beauty of its sunlight, which 


72 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


descended as magical charms, inspiring the 
feathered songster on the highest boughs of 
the stately oak, to carol a welcome to the smil- 
ing king of day. As the evening promised to 
he pleasant, the girls again pressed Uncle Ned 
into service by having him grimace the nooks 
of the spacious lawn surrounding the Graham 
home, with various types of spooks and hob- 
goblins. Lucile and Kate started over to 
where he was sitting ; as they approach- 
ed, the old negro, dominated by that spirit 
of meekness and inferiority which has made the 
ex-slaves of the Old South lovable, rose to his 
feet with his hat folded under his arm, and, 
bending low the white woolly head, saluted them 
with as much deference as an humble subject 
paying homage to his queen. 

“Oh! Uncle Ned, you dear old soul,” ex- 
claimed Lucile tenderly. “You have arranged 
everything so lovely. How can I pay you?” 

“Lawd 0 ’mercy. Honey, youse done done dat 
already,” replied Uncle Ned with a broad grin. 

“When, Uncle Ned?” 

“Lawd, honey, doan youse ’member when I’se 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


73 


ailin with dat ar misry, and thoT shore I^se 
gwine ter die, you brot dat bol o ’chicken brof 
an fed me wif de spoon wif dat dar hand 
o’yourn. No chile, I doan dis-recollick dat.” 

*‘Can you guess who’s coming tonight. Uncle 
Ned,” asked Lucile, as her face glowed with 
joy. 

‘‘Dat nigger across de street sed dis morn- 
in dat de seminary was gwine to fro up de ded, 
and dat a whol regiment o ’ghosts was gwine 
to come a’marchin right down here. Lawd, no, 
Honey, doan zaxly know all dem whats comin, 
but I sho knows who is agwine.” 

“Who did you say was going to leave?” ask- 
ed Lucile as she gave Kate a wink. 

“ I is. Honey, I shore is. Dis yar nigger went 
fru de war with Marse John, fit and fot dem 
blue cote Yankees, jes like da was nufin. But 
dat dar regiment of seminary ghosts whats 
acomin, aint gwine ter find dis nigger here. No, 
Honey, I’se agwine to travel, I shore is.” 

“But Mr. St.Clair is to be here,” added 


Lucile. 


74 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


‘‘What! De young lawer dats ben acomin 
here a cotin yon?” 

“Yes, Uncle Ned, he’s the one.” 

“Well den. Honey, gib him my specks and tell 
him I shore would like ter see him, but dat I’m 
off ter night mindin de word of de Lawd.” 

“Minding the word of the Lord?” repeated 
Lucile, “What do you mean. Uncle Ned?” 

“Doan de Lawd say. Honey, dat ghosts am 
abominations unto de Lawd, and de fudder you 
git from dem, right dar is de refuge ? ’ ’ 

As the girls started back to the house, they 
each handed Uncle Ned a bright silver dollar 
which caused the old darkey to roll the whites 
of his eyes into prominence as he bowed and 
scraped his acknowledgment of the generous tip. 

“A message Miss Lucile,” said a servant of 
the Graham household as he handed Lucile a 
letter. A glance at the hand-writing caused her 
to tear open the envelope with impassioned eager- 
ness. A smile of joy passed over her face 
as she read: 

“My Dearest Lucile: — I have just arrived in 
the city, tired and worn from the strenuous la- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


75 


bors of the past week. Unable to constrain my^- 
self from seeing you until evening, I ask the 
pleasure of seeing you for a few moments this 
afternoon. Lovingly, George. 

A few moments later the servant handed to 
the waiting messenger the following answer: 

My Dear George: — It was a happy moment 
for me when I received your note announcing 
your arrival. I await with impatience your 
visit this afternoon. I shall expect you at four 
p. m. Affectionately yours, Lucile. 

“So your Achilles is now within the walls of 
the city,'’ laughed Kate; “Ready I suppose to 
share with you the sweets of cupidity.” 

“Thank you, Kate, for the appellative name 
of Achilles; so noble a heart deserves the name 
of so brave a warrior, and the very thoughts of 
sipping philters from the chalice of love, with 
him, sets my soul on fire, and, like Homer's 
giant, quaffing from the goblet of Ulysses, cries 
out, ‘Give, give me more!' ” 

“You foolish child,” said Kate teasingly. 
“The Muses must have forced a draught from 
the Pierian Spring to pass your lips, enkindling 


76 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


your heart with flaming passions of virtuous 
affection. Be careful, dear, lest its Are burns 
love to a char and alienates its unblemished 
beauty. ’ ’ 

“That which the world calls love, does not 
necessarily receive its elements of vitality from 
the heights of Parnassus, but oft’ times from 
the inspiration flowing from God’s Eternal 
Throne.” 

“The combination of the pious elements of 
your moral being, in the concrete, portrays in 
my mind a picture of pathetic absurdity. I see 
Venus and her beloved Adonis, each folded with- 
in the wing of a God-sent angel, who, tenderly 
hovering over them, guards their carnal virtues 
and records the secrets of their fluttering hearts. ’ ’ 

“My dear!” exclaimed Lucile in a horrified 
tone. “How can you have the cold heartedness 
to paint a beautiful picture in such sacrileg- 
ious shades. Remember, it is written, ‘ They that 
dwelleth in the secret place of the most high 
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under 
his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


77 


thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid 
for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that 
flieth by day.' " 

“Lucile! I am as happy in my love as you 
are in yours, but I don't find it necessary to im- 
plore God's powers of inspiration to nourish the 
moral tissues of my heart. The light falling 
from the eyes of the man I love, mellowed with 
his smile, is the nutriment that feeds my heart. 
Give me rather the strong arms of Hanford 
as the agency of my protection, than the wings 
of your guardian-angel. Oh, but to feel the 
pressure of his passionate embrace as he presses 
me to his bosom and draws the elixir of life to 
my trembling lips, is to taste that which is to me 
the sweetest of all the world. ' ' 

The old family clock, ever faithful to the 
hours of the past years, was striking four o 'clock, 
Lucile strolled back and forth across the floor 
of the library as she awaited the coming of St. 
Clair. Dressed in a rich Princesse with white 
carnations intwined in her raven hair, she pre- 
sented, in her beautifully curved flgure the be- 
witching charms of Venus of Milo. * Grace was 


78 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


in all her steps, heaven in her eye, and in every 
gesture there was dignity and love! 

am so glad you have come, George, said 
liucile, as St.Clair seated himself by her side 
upon the settee. ‘‘My life has been one contin- 
uous dark night since I saw you last, and 
never before have I realized the awful sting of 
your absence.’’ 

““I am glad my presence brings out the stars 
and drives the gloom away,” laughed St. Clair, 
as his arm encircled the waist of his own Lucile. 

You have promised to be my heroine, and fight 
with me the battles for the freedom of the com- 
mon people, and to do this you must nerve your- 
self to endure the dark hours of our separation, 
with as much fortitude as the fearless mariner 
braves the roughest storm on the darkest night.” 

'‘But, my dear, unlike the mariner, I brave 
the dark waters of Acheron alone when you are 
away from me. ’ ’ 

' ‘ I do not understand you, Lucile, your father 
4s with us in this great cause of the masses, who 
are joining our ranks by the thousands. ’ ’ 

■“George, in my home I am alone; father has 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


79 


deserted our ranks, and condems you for the 
stand you have taken. 

* ‘What ! Do you mean to say that your father, 
who but a short while ago was our spirited ally, 
has now become our avowed enemy?’’ exclaimed 
St.Clair, in an excited tone. 

“Yes,” answered Lucile sadly. 

“And censures my action?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then some one has mis-represented our 
cause. Who has been here?” 

“No one but Senator Bradley, and you know 
Tie has always been a defender of the people’s 
interest. ’ ’ 

“Was Senator Bradley here prior to the time 
your father declared himself against us ? ” asked 
St.Clair nervously. 

“Yes, the day before, but you certainly do not 
suspect him,” added Lucile with surprise. 

“Suspect him,” repeated St.Clair slowly. 

“My heart bleeds to utter it; he is false as 
Apollyon, a despicable traitor of his country.” 

“Be careful, lest in thy anger, thou bear false 
-witness against him,” replied Lucile, as 


80 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


she raised her finger to silence the bitter words 
falling from the lips of St.Clair. 

"‘Tho’ I speak with the fiery breath of an 
angry dragon and hiss his name in shame, I 
would not bear false witness against that man,^’ 
answered St. Clair, with much feeling. 

‘•What reasons have you, George, to presume 
that the hand which guarded you from a thous- 
and daggers of poverty and lifted you from ob- 
scurity to high honor, is now stained with the 
blotch of crime?” 

“The words I have spoken against Senator 
Bradley have not emanated from presumption, 
but from facts, — ah, facts that almost chill my 
blood and paralyse my heart’s action.” After 
a moments pause, St. Clair reiterated the con- 
versation in his office a few months ago, between 
Priest, Senator Bradley and himself. He told 
her of his assiduous research in all matters which 
remotely or directly involved the Senator’s in- 
tegrity. As St.Clair finished speaking, a sigh 
fell from Lucile’s lips, ‘a tear drop glisten’d 
within each eye, like the spray from Eden’s 
fountain, when it lies on the blue flower, which 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


81 


— Brahmins say — blooms no where but in Para- 
dise. ’ 

“It is beyond the powers of my mental con- 
ception to understand how one so great and no- 
ble can become so sordid and fall so low/’ said 
Lucile, seriously. 

“Such men, my dear, ‘build God a church, 
and laugh His word to scorn!’ Think how 
Bacon shined, the wisest, brightest, meanest of 
all mankind.” 

“My father’s friend a traitor! No, never! 
The handsome Bradley, untrue to his people! 
Ah, George! Your charge is incredible,” cried 
Lucile, as she disengaged herself from his em- 
brace. 

“What do you mean, Lucile?” exclaimed St.. 
Clair, as he sprang to his feet, and faced the idol 
of his heart. “Do you believe that I have ma- 
liciously slandered him? The cynosure of all 
eyes, and toward whom some women cast their 
smiles with as much affection as the devout 
Buddhist who threw herself before the wheels 
of the car that carried the diamond-eyed Jug- 
gernaut.” 


82 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


“I do not mean to intimate that your heart 
is filled with the venom of malignant slander ; I 
ean not force myself to believe that the man I 
love, is infected with such a moral infirmity, or 
that the lips I have so fondly kissed were steeped 
in the bitter of such a draught. But I was speak- 
ing from the standpoint of the frailties of the 
masculine nature, which often ^gibes and jests 
with cruel mockery when some mighty genius, 
blazing far above them, breaks beneath the great 
woes of earth, 

‘And some proud ship goes down at sea, 
When heaven is all tranquility’,” 

Ah ! Then it is the spirt of jealously rankl- 
ing as a barbed thorn within my breast, that 
irritates my mind with evil thoughts which pass 
from my tongue as words’ pregnant with the gall 
^t)f Hydra,” said St.Clair, tauntingly. 

‘‘No, indeed! I think of you as the noblest 
of men, and if your heart is as tender 
and sympathetic as I believe it to be pure and 
unblemished, you would be greater than a king, 
a god among men, ’ ’ replied Lucile, as she 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


83 


rose and placed her soft white hand upon St. 
Claires arm. 

“Thank you, my dear, for the words that 
exalt my humble self to the throne of Jupiter. 
In return allow me to bow before you, and lay 
my sceptre at your feet. Were it not for the 
lion heart of which you accuse me of possess- 
ing, I feel sure my eyes would now behold the 
Holy Grail,’’ laughed St.Clair, as he pressed 
the throbbing bosom to his heart and impara- 
dised in his arms the inspiration of his life. 

“This is the very ecstasy of love,” whispered 
Lucile, looking up into the face of her heart’s 
custodian. 

“Sweetheart! I have a secret to whisper to 
you, a secret that burdens and burns my soul as 
tho’ it were a carneous organ filled with molten 
lead,” exclaimed St.Clair, seriously. 

“Well! What is it?” asked Lucile, with a 
startled stare. 

“Promise me, my dear, that you will never 
reveal it until I give you permission to do so.” 

“I shall guard what you tell me with as much 
care as I would protect your honor. Speak, for 


84 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


I shall keep it inviolate.’’ So saying, she sealed 
the vow by presing to her crimson lips some- 
thing fastened to the tiny chain which fell from 
her neck, for, 

“On her white breast a sparkling cross she wore, 
Which Jews might kiss and infidels adore,” 

“John Hewett has placed in my hands valu- 
able papers from the private vaults of the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company, documents which 
hear upon their face the stigma of Senator Brad- 
ley ’s dark crime of traitorism — .” 

“Kate’s father,” interrupted Lucile, with a 
cvry of surprise. 

“Yes! Kate Hewett ’s father, who a month 
ago resigned his position as manager of the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company.” 

“Then he has betrayed their confidence, — a 
base speculation to say the least of it.” 

“Lucile! Mr. Hewett has performed a great 
service to his country. He has exposed the secret 
transactions between the people ’s greatest enemy 
and their most trusted representative. By plac- 
ing those papers with us, he has enabled the true 
and honest leaders of the people to strike with 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


85 


open eyes the source of an awful evil. ’ ’ 

“He is a traitor, nevertheless. If a man is 
mean enough to serve the devil, he ought to be 
loyal to him, as the code of honor demanding 
loyalty between men of principle is broad en- 
ough to embrace the mid-night villains who plot 
together, and in common prey upon the vitals 
of law and order, replied Lucille indignantly. 

‘ ‘ How can you consider lightly the strong evi- 
dence which, without a shadow of doubt, estab- 
lishes the guilt of Senator Bradley? Is it be- 
cause you are blinded to his treachery that you 
do not see the devastation he has wrought?’^ 
asked St.Clar sternly. 

“I am not familiar with the nature of the 
evidence that you hold as the guilt of his al- 
leged crimes. It is enough for me to know that 
his heart is undefiled, and his hands unstained,” 
replied Lucile irascibly. “Would it not be bet- 
ter for you to acquaint yourself with this evi- 
dence, before branding it as the slime of falsity? 
By doing this, you would perceive brib- 
ery burst forth in the magnificence of a golden 
loan, one by one, until thousands flashed their 


86 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


betraying light into the face of the hypocritical 
conceiver of their mythical existence.’^ 

^‘From what you have just said, I suppose 
you charge the Senator of accepting bribes from 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company,” said Lucile 
coldly. 

‘^Bribes, disguised as loans,” answered St. 
Clair, with intensity. 

“What necessitated the disguise,” asked Lu- 
cile. 

“To save him from a felon’s cell, should the 
scrutinous eyes of the law discover his criminal 
acts.” 

“George St.Clair! How dare you carry your 
evil presumption to the extent of besmirching 
his pure business motives with the vitrol of a 
malignant tongue. How dare you simulate an 
honest loan as a criminal strategy/^ cried Lu- 
cile, as she tore herself from St.Clair’s clasp. 

“The sky is changed, and such a change; O night, 
And storm, and darkness! ye are wondrous strong, 
Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light 
Of a dark eye in woman.” 

“Will you kindly explain to me how Senator 
Bradley, who entered Congress as a poor man, is 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


87 


now rated in authentic reports as a millionaire?^’ 
said St.Clair, sedately. 

“Savings from his salary and law practice,” 
answered Lucille abruptly. 

“Your answer was certainly given, unprompt- 
ed by serious thought — . ’ ’ 

“As your tongue often speaks unguided by 
your heart,” interrupted Lucile disdainfully. 

“Senator Bradley is now forty-five years of 
age, therefore every year of his life must repre- 
sent an average saving of over twenty-two 
thousand dollars, in order now to aggregate the 
sordid million which he grasps as the price of his 
country’s blood.” 

“What disposition are you going to make of 
the papers ? ’ ’ asked Lucile curiously. 

“Place them in the hands of the Attorney- 
General as evidence against the Brooks-Priest 
Oil Company and its kindred relations to the 
Gigantic, and also to prove, the treasonable acts 
of their subservient ward. Senator Bradley.” 

“Where are they now?” 

“In my suit case at the hotel, held in an 
iron box, with a strong combination lock.” 


88 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


“John Hewett will live to see the day when 
he will repent of this foul injustice; he will yet 
feel the stings of his own dishonor. ^ ' 

“I am glad that such ill-prophesy does not 
await me somewhere down the aisles of the fu- 
ture,” smiled St.Clair. 

“No, George, I believe the manly qualities 
within you will yet assert themselves, and des- 
troy the vice-bitten instruments of human de- 
struction, before they fasten their deadly fangs 
into the vitals of a guiltless soul.” 

“I am sorry, Lucile, that conditions are such 
as to make it impossible for me to acquiesce in 
your desires as to the disposition of the Hewett 
papers. ’ ’ 

* ‘ Then, your words of love and acts of affection 
have been a mere subterfuge,” cried Lucile, as 
she sank back into the richly mounted mahogany 
chair by her side. 

“Lucile ! You have done me an injustice ; you 
have misjudged the sincere acts of my heart. 
I have tried to live so that I might some day 
be worthy of you, and in this struggle to reach 
your side as a peer, I must be guided only by the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


89 


beacon lights of duty, and listen only to the 
voice of conscience, for 

“ ‘I could not love thee, dear, so much. 
Loved I not honor more!’ ” 

*‘Your delicate sense of honor is only surpass- 
ed by your raging thirst for innocent blood, 
cried Lucile, as a smile of sarcasm curled her 
lips. 

^‘If I am as depraved as the bloody-sceptered 
Mars, or as thirsty for gore as the fleet-footed 
hound, trailing in the wake of an unoffending 
prey, my name should be repulsive to you, and 
the vows at Hymen’s altar, little less than the 
oppressive oaths of vassal allegiance.” 

^^Ah, those cruel words, falling from your lips 
as brands of fire, burn me almost to distrac- 
tion, ’ ’ sighed Lucile, as she pressed her hands to 
her breast and looked with sadness into the face 
of George St.Clair. 

' ' Lucile ! If I have wounded you, forgive me, 
for the arrow that found its way to your heart 
winged itself from a bow I did not mean to 
draw, and the tears that course down your cheek, 
gush from a fountain I did not intend to open. 


90 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


Again, my dear, I say forgive me, forgive the 
heart which tonight feels the awful sting of your 
own sorrow/’ 

^‘Burn those papers to ashes, and I will for- 
give you ; until then, never. ’ ’ 

‘‘Lucile, why do you exact this of me? 
For your sake and for the welfare of my people 
I can not turn a deaf ear to my countrymen, who 
are now calling me to lead them, and thus redeem 
this great country from the curse of trusts and 
monopolies,” pleaded St.Clair, as he rose from 
the side of Lucile’s chair. 

‘‘Ashes, then forgiveness,” repeated Lucile 
coldly. 

“No, never! It is not within the hounds of 
possibility that I turn against my people, and 
associate my name with that of a traitor.” 

“If you love me, George, you will do this for 
my sake, for my love, for my hapiness. You 
have robbed the lamb of its fleece, now philan- 
thropically temper with mercy, the wind to the 
shorn form. ’ ’ 

“ ‘Ashes and forgiveness’ you say; no, never. 
Kather let it be forgiveness in ashes. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


91 


^‘By this, I suppose you suggest the dissolu- 
tion of our engagement,’^ said Lucile, as she 
sprang from her chair. 

'‘If the sacrificing of honor is requisite to its 
consummation, or if a congenial affinity necessi- 
tates the destruction of principle, it is better 
that Cupid sever the ties that bind us,” replied 
St. Clair coldly. 

"I return to you, George, this ring,” said 
Lucille sadly, as she drew the hashing diamond 
from her finger. "Accept it not only as the 
symbol of our broken engagement, but also as a 
token of a broken heart. When alone and in the 
soliloquy of your thoughts, should your eyes 
rest upon it, kindly remember your Lucile of the 
past, who sacrificed the pleasures of your fame 
and glories of your honor, rather than share them 
as the spoils of political conquests or as the 
fruits of moral deterioration. 

“ ‘The last link is broken 

That bound me to thee, 

And the words thou hast spoken 
Have rendered me free!’ ” 


92 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘^No, Lueile! I want you to keep that ring. 
Place it among your most sacred jewels, as its 
unblemished purity is emblematic of your own 
life. Each evening before you turn your lighted 
boudoir into darkness, and lay yourself to sleep, 
take the ring from its casket, and, as you gaze 
upon its fiery fiashes, let your thoughts carry 
you back to the past when we were together, 
and then breathe a prayer for the triumphs 
of the people and for the strength and cour- 
age of their leader. 

“ ‘How e’er it be, it seems to me, 

’Tis only noble to be good; 

Kind hearts are more than coronets. 

And simple faith than Norman blood!’ ” 

"‘Then, George, I shall keep the ring, 
and in the silence of the late evening, 
just before I seek my rest for the night, I 
shall press it to my bosom, and on its wings of 
sacred memory I will take my flight to the old 
swinging bridge that spans the little streamlet 
which meanders its way through the golden 
sands. I ’ll go to where we used to sit, as we 
whiled away the long summer afternoons, listen- 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


93 


ing to the robin chirp the joys of his heart, or 
to some lonely dove cooing softly for its absent 
mate. As I sit there with you by my side, I’ll 
listen again to the words that you spoke as you 
placed this ring on my finger. Yes, I’ll re- 
member you in my prayers ; I ’ll ask God to guide 
and direct you, and to give you an understanding 
and sympathetic heart. Then I ’ll open the foun- 
tain of a sorrowing heart, and on my pillow, 
weep myself to sleep.” 

For a few moments each looked into the face 
of the other, then St.Clair gently pressed Lucile’s 
hand to his lips, and, with the silence of one 
leaving the chamber of death, he withdrew from 
the room. Stepping into the closed carriage 
that brought him to the Graham home, was soon 
driven to the Driskill Hotel. 

^‘Tomorrow, George St.Clair will place the 
slanderous Hewett papers in the custody 
of the Attorney-General,” sighed Lucile, a few 
moments after St.Clair had left. ‘‘Then, the 
pure name of Senator Bradley will be dragged 
in the mire. Oh, God ! This shall not be. The 
man who stood at the death bed of my dear 


94 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


mother and received a saintly blessing from her 
dying lips, shall not be stabbed with the cruel 
dagger of defamation. Ill get those papers, 
even tho’ I be forced to fight for them as a 
wounded tigeress fights over her defenceless cubs. 

My God! Give me strength for this under- 
taking. ’ ’ 

Lucile slipped to her room, and soon disguised 
in a heavy dark veil, left secretly for the hotel. 


“A perfect woman^ nobly plann’d, 

To warn, to comfort, and command; 
And yet a spirit still, and bright. 
With something of an angel light.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


95 


CHAPTER IV. 



FEW days before St. Clair’s visit 
to Austin with the Hewett papers, 
Senator Bradley hurried to Austin 
for a conference with Judge Gra- 
ham. The Senator’s face was pale and haggard, 
having the appearance of one wasted away by 
pain or suffering. The anguish that paled his 
■once god-like features, hung from his brow as 
gathering clouds of sorrow, driven thither 
by the inward storms which billowed the 
crimson stream as it surged through his 
icy heart. When John Hewett resigned his com- 
mission as manager of the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company, he took with him carefully selected pa- 
pers from the vaults of the company, papers 
which in the strength of their undeniable proof 
were to play a double part. First, by proving 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company a child of the 


96 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Gigantic, by adoption, and that it filially obeyed 
the cruel mandates of the heartless foster-parent ; 
second, by proving Senator Bradley’s illict 
intercourse with an artificial person, whose vir- 
tue defiowered by the Gigantic, was at the time 
of such intercourse, a coroprate prostitute. 

It can not be said of John Hewett, that a 
highly developed sense of patriotic duty prompt- 
ed him in following the course he pursued. His 
life spent in the employment of the world’s 
greatest trust, and for years tempered in that 
furnace of hell, had lost every vestige of honor 
and principle. No wonder then, that he had no 
scruples against betraying the secrets of the cor- 
poration with which he was trusted, and over 
which for years he stood guard. His pur- 
pose in stealing the papers was as double-head- 
ed as the service of the papers was two-fold. 
His intention at first was to hold them as in- 
struments of duress per minus, while he de- 
manded hush money of the Brooks-Priest Oil 
Company and of Senator Bradley. Thus, with 
these Powerful documents he boldly attempted 
to insert their dual tentacles into separate 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


97 


and distinct sources of corruption, the vaults of 
a commercial pirate, and the iron-bound chests of 
a legislative traitor, but this failed to ashen the 
cheeks of the brazen-faced Senator, nor did it 
intimidate the monstrous giant of the oil field. 

His only alternative now was legal prosecu- 
tion, as through this course he saw with prophe- 
tic eyes that which pleased him most, — a judg- 
ment against the Brooks-Priest Oil Company> 
placing its golden crown upon an in- 
conveivable million, and meteor-like, burst- 
ing into a thousand golden pieces, was to fait 
into the laps of the stern defenders of the State,, 
and into the tainted coffer of John Hewett, the 
unscrupulous betrayer of a confiding company. 

“Who tells what e’er you think, what e’er you say. 
And if he lie not, must at least betray.” 

Graham ! We must exert every effort to effect 
an estrangement between your daughter Lucile 
and George St.Clair,’^ exclaimed Senator Bra4-- 
ley, after an hour’s conversation with Judge 
Graham, as they sat together in the judge ’Si 
library, discussing the Hewett papers, and try- 
ing to devise ways and means by which to se- 


98 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


cure them before they reached the Attorney- 
GeneraEs department. 

can not see, Senator, how such a course 
can possibly lead to the recovery of those docu- 
ments,’’ replied Judge Graham. 

^‘Ah! Not to their recovery, but as a means 
of suppressing the only available agency through 
which we secure them,” said Senator Bradley 
nervously. 

you still have hope,^^ exclaimed the 
/Judge, with marked surprise. 

“Yes, I have only one hope; we may be able 
to get possession of them by physical force.” 

“But such an action would necessitate riot, 
blood-shed, and publicity,” added Judge Gra- 
ham. 

“Ordinarily, yes; but the execution of the 
(Capture of those papers will be simple 
m lihe extreme. There will be no riot, no blood- 
shed, no publicity.^’ 

“For you to do this successfully, is to 
perceive in you a genius, the glory of which 
would wither the fresh laurels of Sherlock Holm- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


99 


‘ ‘ By the eternals ! I will win that distinction, 
even tho^ there be none but a few conspirators, 
to applaud and praise me,’^ smiled the Senator. 

“When did you concot this scheme, and what 
are your plans asked Judge Graham, as he 
unconsciously turned the pages of a massive 
book on the table at his side. 

“As you know, I spent yesterday in Houston 
with Hansford Kalab and his father — 

‘ ‘ Had they learned of Hewett ’s betrayal, ’ ’ in- 
terrupted Judge Graham. 

“They had not until I told them, and, of 
course this revelation infuriated them to no small 
degree, as they fear the exposure of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company and myself may serve 
as a search-light to reveal a few of their business 
transactions with you, as to the dismissal of 
certain suits, and with myself, as to the defeat 
of certain legislation — 

“Of course, they fear the exposure of the 
bribes they so generously tendered to us, as we 
fear the exposure of the bribes we so mercifully 
accepted from them,” again interrupted the 
Judge. 


100 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


^‘Well! I am sure I have never found a bet- 
ter demonstration of mutual misery/' replied 
the Senator seriously, as he continued. ‘^This 
dangerous condition of affairs resulted in a deep 
laid plot, of which we three were the artificers, 
and, in order to save our reputation from an 
awful disgrace, it becomes necessary to carry 
it into action." 

‘‘How came you to suspect Hewett had the 
papers," asked the Judge. 

“As soon as they were missed from the vaults, 
suspicion of course fell upon him, as he was the 
only one with whom they were trusted. Priest 
at once placed a detective to watch the move- 
ments of Hewett. As a result, Priest learned 
that he is going to turn the papers over to George 
St.Clair, who is to come to St. Louis, and secret- 
ly carry them to Austin to turn over to the At- 
torney-General. Now, St.Clair will reach here 
next Wednesday, but has no engagement with 
the Attorney-General until the next day. As 
they do not yet suspicion our Imowledge of the 
missing papers, St.Clair will probably not guard 
them very closely; this will then give our man 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


lOl 

an opportunity to capture them without St. 
Clair's knowledge." 

“But if St.Clair guards them carefully, what 
then?" asked the Judge. 

What then," repeated the Senator. “Why 
physical force most assuredly. With St.Clair 
tied down with a gag in his mouth our man will 
secure the bundle of papers and reach a point of 
safety, before St. Clair can free himself and 
give the alarm." 

“That is all very well theoretically, but in 
actual practice it may be more difficult. The 
man for this work must be brave, quick, cool and 
deliberate; and above all, discreet in word and 
deed. In other words. Senator, he must have 
every quality of a thorough general." 

“Exactly so, my dear Graham. Priest has 
already employed our man for this task, a man 
who possesses every quality of which you spoke." 

“How could Priest have selected a man to 
carry out a plot which was laid only yester- 
day?" asked the Judge, in a puzzled manner. 

“The scheme of physically over-powering St. 
Clair and taking the papers from him, originat- 


102 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ed in the mind of Priest, but he left the con- 
struction of this plot and the management of its 
execution to us.” 

“I do not understand the connection 
between this plot and my daughter ’s engagement 
to St.Clair.” 

“The connection, Judge, is not between the 
construction or execution of the plot, and your 
daughter's engagement to St.Clair, but between 
her engagement and the suppression of the plot. ^ ’ 

“But even then, I see no connection,” ex- 
claimed the Judge in a tone of bewilderment. 

“Judge! Forgive me. In laying a snare to 
catch others, I have caught myself. I have par- 
tially revealed to you something I can 
not now cover up. Again I say, forgive me, if 
I should, in unearthing the whole, present to 
your mental vision a scene of appalling horror, 
the thoughts of which almost freeze my blood 
and sickens a heart, which is yet human — .” 

‘ ‘ Speak ! Senator speak ! Is the name of my 
daughter involved?” cried Judge Graham, ris- 
ing quickly to his feet. 

"No, Judge, in this, St. Clair only is in the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


103 


scene. Be calm and I will tell you all. St. 
Clair, as the recognized leader of the masses, 
has issued a call for a national assembly of all 
labor organizations to meet three months from 
today in the city of Galveston, to effect an or- 
ganization composed of several labor unions. 
This conference is to be known as ‘The Knights 
of the Laboring Cross,’ the object of which is 
the annihilation of Plutocratic Sovereignty.” 

‘ ‘ If the sceptre should ever fall into the hands 
of those infernal sons of illiteracy, the crown 
of sovereignty would press the brow of a Mac- 
beth,” added Judge Graham gravely. 

“Not only is this their policy,” continued the 
Senator, “but it is to be the sense of the organi- 
zation, to put to the block every political head 
that bow^s in submission to any plutocrat.” 

“Then I wonder which will be first, the head 
of a Texas judge, or that of a United States 
Senator,” smiled Judge Graham. 

“Prom the present status, I am rather in- 
clined to believe that the head of the Senator 
will, in this instance, take precedence over that 
of the Judge, ’ ’ said the Senator, satirically. 


104 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Woe unto us, should we ever fall into the 
clutches of the masses. A blue-blooded French- 
man under the talon of the blood-thirsty Robes- 
pierre, would have a better chance for mercy. 

“Well, back to our subject,'’ said the Sena- 
tor, as he continued. “The first move St.Clair 
will make after perfecting the organization, will 
be to read a list of names, composed of those 
who have struck mortal blows against the Com- 
mon Interests. Prom an authentic source I 
learned that our names were written in this 
doom book, and that they are to be the center of 
attack. Not only is it his purpose to turn that 
rabble against us, but also to bring before their 
vulgar gaze, prototypes of the secret prelimin- 
aries of our public deeds.” 

“My God! This must not be,” cried the 
Judge vehemently. 

‘ ‘ By the eternals, it shall not be, ’ ’ replied the 
Senator, in the same spirit. “Now I hope I 
have prepared you for the grim visage of our 
awful plot. St.Clair must be captured with the 
papers and carried to a certain cave, the exist- 
ence of which is known to no one but myself — . ' ' 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


105 


Where is the cave?’’ asked the Judge with 
excitement. 

*^On an isolated part of my ranch; the prop- 
erty I bought from Gibbons several years ago, 
which is located up the Colorado river near Bull 
creek — . ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Oh, I know the Gibbons ranch, ’ ’ interrupted 
the Judge. ^‘It is located among the mountains 
about twenty miles from here, but I never 
heard of the cave.” 

am sure not,” laughed the Senator. ‘‘A 
few days after I purchased the ranch, I came 
down to ride over it circumspectively ; while thus 
engaged, I observed a large rock lying at the 
foot, and close to the side of the perpen- 
dicular wall of the mountain. The shape of the 
rock, and its peculiar position, caused me to 
dismount from my horse and examine it. After 
prying for some time with a pole, I dis- 
covered to my great surprise, a hole in the moun- 
tain about the size of my body, which upon 
closer investigation, I found to be the entrance 
to a very large cave. This opening is surrounded 
by large trees, and the under-growth makes 


106 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


it very difficult to reach, thereby rendering it 
free from observation.’’ 

‘‘So that dismal cave in the heart of the 
mountain is to be the rendezvous.” 

“Yes! what do you think about it?” asked the 
Senator eagerly. 

“All right, I suppose for the purpose, but 
damn the purpose,” exclaimed Judge Graham 
contemptuously. 

“Then you disapprove of the plot?” 

“No! Not altogether. The capture of the 
papers is necessary, else we go to our graves 
in disgrace. But to capture St.Clair, and carry 
him to that cave, will but add fuel to the 
flames of our trouble. No, Bradley! I am not 
himting for a white elephant to guard in a 
cave.” 

“Neither do I believe in scotching a snake 
without killing it — .” 

“Then you would murder the man,” cried 
Judge Graham. 

“No! Not if he would make the proper con- 
cessions. ’ ’ 

“What concessions do you demand?” ask- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


107 


ed the Judge with a pale face. 

“I demand that he keep inviolate every- 
thing pertaining to his capture, and that hence- 
forth he will not raise his voice against Pluto- 
cracy. That he will in no way aid or abet the 
cause of the masses, that he will not appear in 
Galveston at the assembly of laboring men, ex- 
cept to discourage the orgainzation of the 
Knights of the Laboring Cross. ^ 

* ‘ But how will you bind him to this promise ? ’ ’ 
asked the Judge doubtfully. 

“With his word of honor.” 

“Then I agree with you as to the statement 
you made a few minutes ago. Trust your life 
to a man^s word of honor, given under compul- 
sion and, without doubt, your head will take 
precedence over mine at the block. ’ ’ 

“Graham! I do not hesitate for a mo- 
ment to stake my life upon the honor of St. 
Clair.” 

“You have that much confidence in him?” 

“I have.” 

“Then we are plotting against one greater 


1C8 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


than a god, one whose qualities of honor are 
‘superhuman. ^ ^ 

^‘Men who are impregnable against evil, are 
dangerous when once their hand is turned against 
you,^’ replied the Senator. 

Cicero ^s fear of Catiline does not equal mine 
of St.Clair,’^ said the Judge slowly. ^‘If you 
are going to put St.Clair under unlawful cus- 
tody, then. Senator, I wash my hands of the 
crime, as I would rather face the bar of Justice 
with a heart stained with perjury and my hands 
clean of murder, than to present them both 
covered with treason and gore.” 

‘‘Ah Judge! It is too late now to show the 
white feather. We have been forced to cross the 
Rubicon. ‘Our life is upon a cast, and we must 
stand the hazard of the die!’ In the spirit of 
Cicero I, too, say, ‘When 0 ’St.Clair, do you 
mean to cease abusing our patience? How long 
is that madness of yours still to mock us? 
When is there to be an end of that unbridled 
audacity of yours ? ’ I listen for the answer, 
and with an echo I hear it in yonder cave.” 

“What will you do if he does not make a 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


109 


single concession? Will you keep a guard for 
life over him?’' asked the Judge ironically. 

The Senator’s eyes flashed lightning, his face 
flushed with anger as he sprang to his feet, his 
voice choked with wrath as he cried, “Woe unto 
him, if he makes no concessions. The mercenary 
villain who guards him, shall dig a deep hole in 
the bottom of the cave and bury him there. Then 
the entrance will be sealed up, and over it will 
grow the wild vine of the woodland and the 
cool damp moss of the mountain.” 

Ah! Your scheme. I see it now. By break- 
ing the engagement between Lucile and St.Clair^ 
their correspondence will naturally end, there- 
by eliminating all comment, which otherwise 
would pass the lips of my daughter, forced by 
the anguish caused by absent letters.” 

“Such is the motive. Judge, and it is up to 
us to carry this into effect, as I am no more 
guilty than you, neither are you less immune 
than I from the attack of St. Clair.” 

“But my better nature speaks out, and in the 
language of Pilate exclaims, ‘I And no fault in 
this man,’ therefore, do I wash my hands of his 


110 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


Mood, the blood of a just and innocent man. 

‘‘Oraham! You’r a coward, an unprincipled 
coward, to thus sheath your dagger, and in the 
terror of your fear, offer yourself as a prey 
to the fixed bayonet of the merciless enemy who 
spares not his antagonist,” cried the Senator 
bitterly. 

“I may be too cowardly to rise before him 
in my own defense, but I am not so void of honor 
as to stab in the back, one so brave and fear- 
less,” answered Judge Graham, with equal bit- 
terness. 

‘‘Man’s first duty is to himself, and in exer- 
cising this duty is often necessary to demonstrate 
Herbert Spencer’s rule of the ‘Survival of the 
Fittest,’ ” pleaded the Senator, in a milder tone. 

“In regard to the application you have just 
made of that rule, I feel very much like the re- 
morseful Mike, who, expressing it in his own 
plain way, said, ‘Faith and be jabbers, me aint 
fit to survive,” replied the Judge soberly. 

“Do you refuse to exert your influence over 
your daughter in the breaking of her engage- 
ment with St. Clair?” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Ill 


refuse to enter the sanctuary of love as 
an evil spirit, by estranging two confiding hearts. 
I refuse to be transformed into a demon and, 
with the red hand of murder, stab one heart and 
crush another,” cried Judge Graham vehement- 
ly. 

“But I demand it,” shouted Senator Bradley 
with fury. 

“Then emphatically do I refuse to act the 
villain by affording succor to the execution of 
your bold contrivance. I will not do obeisance 
unto Pluto.” 

“I will have my revenge! I’ll ruin you,” 
threatened the Senator. 

‘ ‘ Our crimes against the sovereignty of Texas, 
were committed unitively, therefore they are in- 
separable, and by them are we bound. You 
can not plunge me into the abyss of doom, with- 
out being drawn there. ’ ’ 

“The people would spare and enonerate me, 
while at the same time they would hurl you to 
a political death, or domicile you behind 
the bars of a gloomy prison. Ah no! The 
criminal ties that bind us are not strong enough 


112 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


to resist the force of the people’s confidence in 
my integrity,” said the Senator dogmatically. 

^‘You have already been exonerated twice, and 
this mercy shown to you has made you reckless. 
Heed my words Bradley, you will risk once too 
often, then there will be no hand extended to 
rescue you from the precipice of ruin,” pleaded 
Judge Graham. 

‘‘Never fear, my dear Judge,” said the Sena- 
tor tauntingly. “The confidence of the voter, 
the adoration of woman, and the admiration of 
youth, are all mine. They are the instruments 
of warfare which defend me against my enemies, 
and I shall continue to hold them as tho’ they 
were incorporeal hereditaments in fee simple,” 
replied the modern Braggadochio. 

“But when St.Clair opens his campaign 
against you, and brings into the light all that 
is now in the dark, the confidence of the voter 
will be shaken as were the pillars of 
the temple, through the giant strength of 
Samson. The adoration of woman will be chang- 
ed into scorn, and she, like the credulous Deliah 
of old, will shear you of your strength-giving 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


113 

locks, the people’s confidence. Aroused from 
your slumbers by her hypocritical cry ‘The r lass- 
es he upon thee Bradley,’ you will awaken 
find yourself betrayed, and your power gone. 
The emulous youth will detect in his handsome 
god the spirit of Apollyon, the falsity of Judas 
Iscariot.” 

“Judge! Such ‘levity of tongue’ nettles me 
sore. In that campaign neither will you be 
spared, as your crimes will appear as dark as 
mine. For the last time I make my appeal to 
you. I implore for the last time your support 
in the execution of the plot. With our hands 
clasped together, let us forget the harsh words 
spoken today, as we henceforth battle in com- 
mon for the heritage of an unstained reputa- 
tion to leave to posterity.” 

“Accept my hand,,” said Judge Graham with 
great reluctance and much feeling. “You are 
right. For the sake of posterity we can not afford 
to be ground into dust beneath the heel of SL 
Clair. I shall endeavor to break my daughter’s 
engagement to this man. I shall attempt this, 
even tho’ I incur the imputation of perfidy/’ 


114 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘^•Judge ! You have by this resolution favored 
not only yourself and me, but Henry Priest 
also. He has again sho^vn his deep apprecia- 
tion of your services in behalf of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, by asking me to present to 
you this check for five thousand dollars, re- 
plied the Senator, as he drew from his pocket 
the valuable cheek and handed it to Judge Gra- 
liam. 

‘"‘^Bradley! Since our dear friend Priest has 
Jionored me hy presenting through you this most 
/expressive token of his appreciation of my ser- 
'vices, I shall likewi^ in return honor Him, 
by expressing through you my heart-felt grati- 
tude. I shall be pleased if you say to him for 
ine^ fhat henceforth I shall be subservient to his 
.every will.*^ 

assure you. Judge, it is an honor and pleas- 
toe for me to thus serve as the com- 
‘municative instrument,^’ answered the Sena- 
tor with the grace of a Chesterfield. '‘Now 
Judge, since we have agreed as to every phase 
of our plot, I shall tell you our other object for 
capturing St.Clair, with the papers. As you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


115 


know, the Primary has nominated me for the 
United States Senate, also nominated St.Clair 
for the State Legislature, and as he has no op- 
ponent he will certainly be elected at the General 
Election, a few days hence. As he is already pre- 
paring to strike deadly blows against us as soon as 
the Legislature convenes, we are forced to take 
this action and hold him as our prisoner in the 
cave until he, in addition to the other demands, 
promises silence in the Legislative Body 
as to our crimes. As I have already said, should 
he not respond to our several demands, it be- 
hooves us, in defense of our wealth-gaining pre- 
rogatives, to strike with deadly aim the vital 
cords which bind to earthly life the instigator 
of our ruin.^’ 

will be with you at all hazards,’’ re- 
plied the Judge affectionately. 

‘ ‘ Condition of affairs are most peculiar, con- 
tinued the Senator. “Lucile, the daughter of 
my closest ally, is bound to the heart of my 
bitterest enemy, while Kate, the daughter of the 
thievish villain who follows my trail as some 
blood-thirsty hyena, is the affianced of one of my 


116 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


dearest friends. I hope we shall profit by this, 
and he successful in securing the co-operation of 
the two girls as our strategists.^’ 

After another hour’s conference with the 
Judge in the library, Senator Bradley left the 
Graham home. He hadj been successful, the 
dark plot had been carefully anchored upon the 
Styx, the infernal crew were awaiting the Styg- 
ian flood to bear them to their haven and to 
carry the Noblest Roman to nature’s gloomy 
Bastille. 


“To whom can riches give repute or trust, 

Content or pleasure, but the good and just? 
Judges and senates have been bought for gold, 
Esteem and love were never to be sold." 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


117 


CHAPTER V. 


*‘0 comfort-killing night, image of hell! 

Dim register and notary of shame! 

Black stage for tragedies and murders fell! 

Vast, sin-concealing chaos! nurse of blame! 
Blind, muffled bawd! dark harbor for defame! 
Grim cave of death! whispering conspirator 
With close-tongued treason and the ravisher!’* 


S St. Clair passel through the 
corridor of the hotel to the 
elevator, on the way to his 
room, his hear was too heavy, 
and his mind too absorbed with the aw- 
ful thoughts of the many changes that 
had taken place during the few short hours 
of the afternoon, to notice the well dressed gen- 
tleman who sat but a short distance from the ele- 
vator, and who at this time was seemingly inter- 
ested in the daily paper. To the casual observer 



118 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


there was nothing in the general appearance of 
this gentleman to attract special notice. But to a 
circumspective student of human nature, he is 
found to differ in many respects from the ordin- 
ary man. His movements were quick and lithe. 
Every sound arrested his attention, as nothing 
seemed to pass him unnoticed, not even the most 
minute object. He was as restless and nervous 
as a cat when it secnts a prey. 

As St.Clair entered his room and closed the 
door, he sank into a chair and burying 
his face in his hands, shifted his thoughts to the 
lifeless desert of profound solitude. There alone, 
he bewailed the cruel fate that tore from his 
warm embrace the plighted bride of his love. 
* ‘ Oh Honor ! Thou art my king. I have served 
thee faithfully, I have fought thy cause. 
Why then in return should you smite me ? Why 
by your mandates do you sting me ? Ah, Lucile ! 
Your cold indifference, your heartless words, 
your haughty smiles, all unite into one awful 
force to drive me forever from my fairest Eden. 
Oh ! For so little, I have lost so much. Today 
I arraigned a traitor, and as a result, lost Para- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


119 


dise. Tomorrow I shall triumph over the trai- 
tor, but the gates of Paradise will not be opened 
to me, its domains shall never be regained. Oh i 
Were I not bound to duty — my noble master, 
I would as the wandering J ew, condemned by the 
purest of earth, roam from place to place, until 
the Angel of Death tears my soul from its mor- 
tal coil, thus setting it free from the awful 
g 3 wes of sorrow and pain, by winging it to all 
eternity. But why should I think of death, as 
the release of earthly service, such is only the 
thoughts of cowards. Forgive me, 0 God, for 
such weakness, and give me strength as the lead- 
er of thy children of toil, to lead them by thy 
mercy, from the dark valleys of bondage, to the 
lighted heights of social and political supremacy. 
In this service of thy people, endow me 
with courage to strike for the right. Place in 
my hand the shield of thy Truth, for it is mighty 
against thy enemies and the cruel oppressors of 
thy people. In the end, 0 God, mantle our 
cause with triumph, crown it with the olive 
branch of peace, and with thy immaculate love 
and divine wisdom, place within its hands the 
septre throughout eternity. 


120 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


After a few moments more of deep medita- 
tion, St. Clair aroused himself from his passion- 
ate soliloquy, and bathed his burning cheeks 
and feverish brow in nature’s cool and refresh- 
mg balm, which served for a while to soothe the 
oain, which but a moment before had 
rankled as a thorn within his breast. Just 
Ibefore St. Clair left his room for the dining 
liall, he opened his suit-case, and lifting up the 
iron box which held the Hewett papers, ex- 
claimed: ‘‘Ah! By thy contents shall wrong 
be righted; by their proof the trusted States- 
3Kin of today will be the convicted felon of to- 
mon’ow; by their silent testimony the thrones 
of Plutocracy will be leveled to the dust and 
the Sovereignty of the people re-established ; 
by their statements of truth, the girl who today 
smelly wronged me, shall see the error of 
ber unfounded defense in behalf of the apostate 
Senator, and in her remorse she will banish him 
forever from her virgin heart, with as much 
force as the converted pagan casts her idol to 
destruction upon the stones at her feet.” The 
sight of the iron box affected St.Clair as tho’ it 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


121 


were charged with magic, for a smile played as 
sunshine across his face as he replaced it again in 
the suit-case, and left for the dining room. 

As St.Clair was looking over the menu which 
lay on the table in front of him, the well-dressed 
gentleman, described in the opening of this 
chapter, and who might apropriately be styled a 
human phenomenon, entered the dining room, 
and seated himself at the same table with St. 
Clair. The meal hour passed very pleasantly, 
as the gentleman semed very talkative and ex- 
ceedingly friendly. He asked many questions 
concerning the political issues of the State, and 
seemed surprised when he learned that the mass- 
es were uniting into one great strength 
to strike in the decisive struggle between 
Labor and Capital. He expressed himself 
as a sympathetic advocate of the labor 
cause, and in a very logical manner offered sev- 
eral suggestions as to the best methods of carry- 
ing on the contest, and advanced a number of 
theories as to the best move in maintainiug a 
permanent supremacy when once victorious and 
in power. So comprehensive were his arguments 


122 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


on this subject, that he impressed St. Clair as 
being highly capacitated in the science of politi- 
cal tactics. But as the gentleman proceeded 
with his arguments, St. Clair was amazed when 
he expresed himself favorable to an Ochlocratic 
form of government, as his theorization of the 
subject plainly bespoke an Anarchic source. As 
they were leaving the dining room, this gentle- 
man, who at the beginnig of their conversation 
introduced himself as “Stanton,^’ offered St. 
Clair a cigar, which he accepted. As they light- 
ed their cigars, Stanton proposed a stroll to the 
bridge which spans the beautiful Colorado, add- 
ing to the proposal his desire to continue their 
previous conversation. As St.Clair felt the need 
of some means to divert his thoughts from the 
afternoon’s scene of Cupid’s Tragedy, he ac- 
cepted the proposal, and they left together for 
the bridge. 

‘‘As I understand you, Mr. Stanton, I be- 
lieve you declare yourself as an advocate of that 
form of government which is controlled directly 
by the people, and that you consider a represen- 
tative, elected by them, the master and not the 
servant of the people.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


123 


do/’ replied Stanton. 

“Then, according to your theory, a person 
delegated by the people’ for the purpose 
of framing, interpreting, and executing the laws, 
is the creation of a master, who, after developing 
the requisite strength for his deputed task, makes 
a servant out of the original creator,” said St. 
Clair, as they crossed upon the bridge. 

“Yes! Upon that point you understand me 
thoroughly. When the Divine Architect 
made man. He gave him a Mind, a Will, 
and a Conscience, the three departments 
of individual government. The Mind to Legis- 
late, the Will to Execute, and the Conscience 
to Interpret. Therefore, living as we do in an 
enlightened age with an educational environ- 
ment, three-fourths of the people should have a 
fair conception of the right, and would naturally 
give the offender a punishment adequate to the 
crime.” 

“Do you believe that a brain fired with the 
heat of passion, is capable of conceiving justice?” 
asked St.Clair with a smile. 

“Do you believe that a brain susceptible to 


124 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


the influence of wealth is capable of such con- 
ception? By answering my question, you also 
answer yours. 

‘‘I do not,’^ replied St.Clair emphatically. 

“Your courts of Justice are mere institutions 
of mockery. Temples where the Plutocrat is ex- 
onerated and where the innocent peasant is ston- 
ed, said Stanton, with much feeling. 

“While some of our men intrusted with office, 
have proven to be criminals, yet the great ma- 
jority of them are honest, noble men, and it is 
through them that the criminal office holder is 
punished and the high standard of the greatest 
government in the world maintained.’’ 

“Ah! They all have their price, and are 
like the quadrupedal impostor, that draws the 
sheep’s wool over his wolfish form, and goes 
forth upon a mission of destruction. Your courts 
of so-called Justice are not even the instruments 
of blind Justice, but of open-eyed oppression.” 

“Then you believe in the elimination of all 
intervening agencies, and as a substitute to fill 
the gap, you offer mob law, or rather, lawless 
mobs, ’ ’ 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


125 > 

‘‘That which a people wills, is right, and the 
best executor of that will are those who will it.’^ 

“Such is the doctrine of Anarchy. Is that 
your political creed?” asked St.Clair good- 
naturedly. 

“I favor a government under the direct con- 
trol of the people,” answered Stanton firmly. 

“Aristotle brands such a government as a cor- 
rupted democracy, which exhibits many features 
of a tyranny.” 

“You refer to the words of a man who lived 
over three hundred years before Christ, and at 
a time when the masses were not capable of 
being vested with the powers of Sovereignty. 
Since that time, many rulers have wielded the 
sceptre as tho’ it were a sword given them to 
be blooded to the hilt with the gore of those who 
in their majestic righteousness displeased the 
crowned Hecate of earthly Hells. Was is not 
the infernal demon, who in history bears the title 
of King Henry the Eighth, that burned at the 
stake or beheaded on the block, all who did not 
recognize in him the head of the Church, and 
the Pope’s superior, and who, as a means to eur 


"126 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


force his rule, wrote the Six Articles — the so- 
called ‘ Bloody Statute T ’ ’ 

“But one wrong does not make another right. 
The Right must regenerate the Wrong, thereby 
purifying it, as the golden sands purify silted 
waters. One of our own contemporary writers 
speaks of Ochlocracy as composed of flaming 
minds, which execute their wild commands 
through mobs, which are like cotton waste satu- 
rated with oil ; a focused idea causes spontaneous 
combustion. ^ ’ 

As St.Clair finished speaking, a very rough 
looking speciment of humanity drove up in a car- 
riage and stopped in front of them. He made sev- 
eral inquiries as to the roads which forked at the 
end of the bridge. In reply, Stanton told him 
that, as they were strangers in the city, they 
were not familiar with the roads in question. 
“Have either of you gentlemen lost a letter 
asked the man in the carriage, as he continued. 
“I saw one in the footpath as I crossed upon the 
bridge, and picked it up. ^ ’ 

“To whom is it addressed? asked Stanton 
quickly. The stranger took the letter from his 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


127 


pocket, and read the following address: 

‘‘Mr. George St.Clair, Austin Texas. 

“That is my name,” replied St.Clair in a 
surprised tone, as he stepped toward the carriage 
and extended his hand for the letter. Just as 
his fingers touched the envelope, he felt some 
one spring upon his back, and before he had time 
to resist, his arms were fastened behind him 
with a strong pair of hand-cuffs. The stranger in 
the carriage forced a gag into his mouth, then 
quickly pulled over his eyes a dark heavy blind- 
fold, while his confederate at St.Clair’s back 
lifted him roughly into the carriage, and in a 
rough, deep voice, characteristic of a thug, 
’Cried, “Now drive like hell.” 

St.Clair felt the jerk of the carriage as the 
horses plunged forward. He realized that they 
were being driven at a rapid rate, but as to their 
destination, he knew not. Thoughts passed 
through his brain as flaming meteors through 
the night. “Who are the ruffians that have 
undertaken such foul work? Are they base 
conspirators carrying into effect their own con- 
spiracy, or is it a fact that they are only hirelings 


128 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


whom want and idleness had induced to become 
instruments under the control of a great tyrant, 
which in secret planned my destruction, and 
who under the dark cover of night are executing 
the commands of a cruel master. Where is 
Stanton? Have they taken him too, or did he 
escape ?'’ 

It was not long until the carriage left the 
main drive-way, and dashed upon the lonely 
labyrinthal road which wound itself through the 
various mountain passes and amid the tall green 
cedars. On and on they went, much faster to 
St.Clair than were the slowly passing hours, 
which seemed to move as lazily as a large bird on 
a tired wing. The owl, that grim nocturnal 
bird the evil raptorial weird of the shades, from 
his throne on some dead limb, was hooting away 
the invading spirits of that ’witching time of 
night, when churchyards yawn, and hell itself 
breathes out contagion to the world ! ‘ The infer- 

ior demons of the woods, raised rueful shrieks 

“Tis’ midnight; — on the mountains brown 
The cold round moon shines deeply down; 

Blue are the waters of the Colorado, blue the sky 
Spreads like an ocean hung on high. 

Bespangled with those isles of light. 

So wildly, spiritually bright.’" 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


129 


At last the carriage stops. They have reached 
their sombre destination. Not a word is spoken 
as they unbind St.Clair from the seat in which 
he is sitting. Silently and mechanically they 
lift him from the carriage and trudge with their 
victim through the under-brush to the mouth 
of the cave. Stooping low, they enter and lay 
their burden upon a cot. A lantern is lighted 
and St.Clair is relieved of his painful append- 
ages, the gag and iron wrist bands. The band- 
age is taken from his eyes, and he sees before 
him the villain who had strategically offered 
him a letter on the bridge. His eyes turn quick- 
ly in search of the human tiger who had sprung 
upon his back as he reached out to accept the 
letter. His face turned pale, and fire flashed 
from his eyes as they rested upon the other de- 
monial machinator. He was face to face with 
Stanton, the hypocritical fiend of hell. 

For a moment each stared into the face of the 
other, then springing from the cot, St.Clair 
cried; “Ah Stanton! Is that you? What 
means this outrage?” It was St.Clair’s inten- 
tion to knock Stanton to the ground, then maka- 


130 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


a dash for the mouth of the cave and escape, but 
as he drew his strong arm back to deal the 
blow, Stanton ^s accomplice rushed to his assist- 
ance, and, wrenching St.Clair’s drawn arm, 
threw him to the hard rock floor of the cave. 
Before St.Clair had time to rise, both men had 
pounced upon him, and in a few minutes he was 
bound with a strong chain, the end of which 
was locked to an iron post placed for the pur- 
pose. As the cave was cold and damp, a fire was 
kindled with dry cedar faggots, which light- 
the whole interior. As St. Clair was 
now powerless to act, discretion whispered 
in his ear the gentle commands of silence 
and submissiveness, which he obeyed by 
.crawling on his knees to the cot and lying down 
upon it. He had often heard and used in col- 
loquies, the slang phrase ‘‘At the end of one’s 
rope, ’ ’ but Jbpw true tonight was the awful reali- 
sation .of being at the end of one’s chain. As he 
iaj on his back, his eyes penetrated every recess 
of this lonely cavern, which now as nature ’s Bas- 
tille, held as prisoner one who knew not of his 
crime. He saw above him the hanging cones of 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


131 


crystal ; the studded gems flashed a lustre 
over the glowing coals of the Are beneath. 

‘ ‘ Oh ! How true it is that the greatest beauties 
of this world are receptive of so much sor- 
row/’ thought St.Clair as he gazed upon nature 
in its wildest, yet in its most exquisite beauty. 

‘ ‘ Socrates must have been in the mountains, near 
a waterfall and beneath the green ferns and 
mosses when inspired with the thought 
that the divine attributes might be inferred from 
the works of creation.” 

St.Clair’s attention was now turned toward 
his two captors, who were just entering the cave 
with several bundles. He was startled when he 
recognized among them his suit-case and other 
belongings. The truth flashed vividly before 
his mind. “They captured me because they 
wanted the Hewett papers. Oh ! But for these 
chains I would strike a death blow. The 
wretches have stolen the evidence that would have 
made Senator Bradley a felon. My name once 
honored by Lucile will now fall from her lips 
with a hiss. Today I was happy when I thought 
how this evidence would prove my charges and 


132 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


bring again my lost Lucile to the heart that is 
burning for her. But now all hope has fled, 
leaving in its blackened path nothing but the 
sad remembrance of a ruined life. Oh ! 
That my hands were the sharp claws of a lion, 
I would tear open the flesh of my bosom and 
squeeze the life’s blood from the chambers of 
my heart. Oh Fate, Fate! As a dark cloud 
you have overshadowed the sunny orbs of my 
destiny, and now it seems my lot to be doomed 
to suffer the awful pangs of defeat,” such were 
the melancholious thoughts of St.Clair, as he 
watched the movements of his enemies. 

“Mr. St.Clair, with your kind permission, 1 
will open your suit-case, and search for the 
papers stolen from the vaults of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company,” exclaimed Stanton as he 
stood before St.Clair with the suit-case in his 
hand. 

“Permission asked by a thug like you is only 
a subterfuge,” replied St.Clair with contempt. 

‘ ‘ Then, my dear sir, that which is not permit- 
ted, may very easily, upon this occasion, be 
forced,” said Stanton tauntingly, as he knelt 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


133 


down to unfasten the straps which bound it. 

While Stanton was thus engaged, St.Clair’s 
thoughts took flight again. ‘ ‘ Ah ! The serpent 
that crossed the threshold of the Graham home, 
and charmed the confidence of my dearest idol, 
and stung the soul of her father, now wraps 
its slimy coils around my body. Oh Bradley! 
Bury your poisonous fangs into my life, and 
set my soul free from these excruciating pains 
of mortality.” 

St.Clair watched with intense interest as Stan- 
ton opened the suit-case. His eyes glowed with 
surprise, and his face flushed with excitement 
when he saw that the iron box containing the 
Hewett papers was not there. The other pack- 
ages taken from St. Clair’s room were 
now brought before his cot and searched, but the 
papers could not be found. This condition of 
affairs angered Stanton and puzzled St.Clair, 
for he knew they were in his suit-case when he 
went to dinner the evening of his capture: his 
soul was now pregnant with a brighter hope. 
If the box containing the papers were lost on the 
road tonight, perchance an honest man will find 


134 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


it, and return to the address written upon the 
lid. Stanton made a search of all the 
bundles, but in vain : the coveted papers 
were not there. “St.Clair! The disposition 
you have made of the Hewett papers concerns 
us materially, therefore we must have them,'^ 
exclaimed Stanton bitterly. 

With an expression of disdain in his eye and 
on his lip, St.Clair replied; “Your demands 
without the power to enforce them are as dead 
as an Egyptian mummy, and as fruitless as the 
cursed fig tree. ’ ’ 

“If you value your life above that of a snail, 
you will give those papers over to our custody, 
as that is the only ransom that will spare your 
life and give you liberty. ’ ^ 

“Then strike now a deadly blow where life 
throbs its wildest,’’ cried St.Clair, as he tore 
open the bosom of his shirt, and bared the flesh 
that covered his heart. “Strike! For I shall 
not accept the bribe of a mortal life for that 
which would endanger the welfare of my country 
by blotting out the vestige of crime committed 
by her arch-oppressors.” 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


135 


“Ah, sir! The concealment of those papers 
was a grave mistake, as your life is now responsi- 
ble for them. The secrecy of their hiding place 
which you have wrapped in the tissues of your 
brain, unless revealed, will be the cause of your 
eternal destruction.” 

“No, never!” cried St. Clair. “You cannot 
destroy me eternally. My body may suc- 
cumb to your wrath. But beyond the 
grave there is a life everlasting, a life 
impregnable, which the fetters of captivity can 
not bind, nor the assissin’s knife wound. Be- 
yond this world of sorrow which turbu- 
lently flows with scalding tears, there is an eter- 
nal home for the oppressed who are faithful unto 
death. ’ ’ 

“Damn you! I haven’t time nor patience to 
listen to a theological lecture, I want those pa- 
pers,” yelled Stanton savagely, as he roughly 
searched St.Clair’s person. Not being able to 
find them, he turned from St.Clair, and left the 
cave with curses falling from his lips. With the 
exception of the guard who sat at the entrance 
of the cave with a rifle across his lap, St.Clair 


136 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


was alone ; and as he lay upon his cot, he could do 
nothing but think. As sleep had deserted him, 
the agonies of wakefulness were now torturing 
his body and soul. From without he could 
hear the ‘loud howling of the wolves, which, 
seemed to arouse the jades that drag the tragic 
melancholy night, ’ while within, the dimly light- 
ed lanterns and dying embers cast a ghastly 
gloom upon the cold damp walls of the lonely 
cavern, which ‘seemed a place where ghouls 
might come with their foul banquets from the 
tomb.’ As he gazed intensely into the glowing 
coals, he saw embedded there a gruesome picture 
of a happy life in ruins, over which a vulturous 
Senator soared and hungerly pierced the 
scene with his hawk-like eyes. With a 
sick heart St. Clair turned his face from 
the horrible spectacle, and again looked 
out through the opening into the night ; 
a small flashing light caught his eye; 
with his hands folded in supplication and his 
eyes turned toward Heaven, he whispered softly, 
“Thank God for one genial star that rises to- 
night and smiles so sweetly upon a poor prisoner 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


137 


amid the gyves of hell, placed there for no crime, 
but because of his obeisance to the call of his 
country.^’ He turned his face again to the 
burning coals, a smile of deep affection burnish- 
ed his pale brow with the radiance that eman- 
ates only from a Holy love that is crushed and 
bleeding; he saw amid the emblazoned embers 
a fiery prototype of his lost Lucile. Tears from 
an over fiowing fountain sprang into his eyes, 
as he gazed with fondness upon the scene. ‘ ‘ Oh, 
Lucile, Lucile! If you only knew the injustice 
done me, if you were not charmed with that al- 
luring confidence which binds you to the hypo- 
critical and fiendish nature of those you trust 
as tho^ they were exemplary gods, you would 
swear eternal vengeance against the sceptre of 
Bradley and the throne of Priest. But now the 
papers are lost, all hope is gone, and my crushed 
heart is in the cruel venger’s hand. Can a 
wretch like Bradley, ‘who shrines his lusts in 
Heaven, and makes a pander of his God,’ con- 
tinue to hold an honest and virtuous man in cap- 
tive chains?” 

A groan fell from St.Clair’s lips, a trepidation 


138 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


of horror passed over him, as a flaming serpent 
from the dying embers sprang up and coiled it- 
self around the fiery prototype, which vanished 
forever with the last ray of the flickering camp- 
fire, As the lights in the lanterns had been ex- 
tinguished, there was nothing left but the cheer- 
less ash-heap enveloped in the darkness of the 
night. This weird nocturnal gloom soon 
drew St. Clair into that unconscious state 
called sleep, and for a few hours he for- 
got his sorrows and dreamed of the fairest of the 
fair, who appeared to him now as a beautiful 
angel wrapped in an ‘ entertissued robe of gold 
and pearl. ’ 

“Such a maid, that fancy ne’er 
In fairest vision formed her peer.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


139 


CHAPTER VI. 


“The day is done, and the darkness 
Falls from the wings of Night, 

As a feather is wafted downward 
Prom an eagle in his flight.” 


HE promenades and driveways 
surrounding the Graham home 
were all aglow with lights flashed 
from the eyes of ghastly monsters^ 
which seemed to hide themselves amid the ever* 
greens and beneath the climbing vines, for it 
was Hallowe’en eve, 



And the night shall be fllled with music. 

And the cares that infest the day 
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, 

And as silently steal away.” 

The siren strains from Besserer’s orchestra 
fell upon the listening ear, as magical music of 
the spheres mingled with the alluring voice of 


140 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


Israel and the silver notes of a thousand night* 
engales. The guests were masked and costumed 
as deities, each bringing from Olympus or 
other abodes, the emblem of their respective 
power. The nine Muses from Parnassus were 
chaperoned by Apollo, and were the source of 
intertainment during the evening. But among 
all the gods, the least tonight was the greatest, 
for Cupid with his little bow and quiver of 
arrows ruled supreme. Even the thunderbolts 
of Jupiter did not drown the sound of beating 
hearts inspired by this little god of love. Venus, 
the beautiful mother of Cupid, came with the 
handsome Adonis, while Juno, the powerful 
Queen of Heaven, accompanied them as the 
guardian of virtue. Clotho, Atropos, and 
Lachesis, the three Fates, came together, and 
upon the mortals of earth, they breathed a 
curse upon some and a blessing upon others. 

Hansford Kalab who in his business sphere 
had formed the habit of trying to monopolize 
all business within his reach, tonight entered the 
social Elysium of the gods with the same spirit 
of monopoly, and held captive during the even- 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


141 


ing the beautiful Kate Hewett, who appeared 
as the nymph CEnone, while Hansford Kalah 
was the silver-tongued Paris, who held the gold- 
en apple as an alluring tribute to the fairest 
charms — charms which the nature of Kate 
Hewett did not possess. 

“The fate, 

That rules the will of Jove, had spun the days 
Of Paris and CEnone.” 

But the shadows from the gathering clouds 
had not yet darkened the golden rays of love 
which fell from Hansford ^s heart as a jeweled 
halo upon the brow of her whom the decree of 
Fate had denied the golden apple. Lucile, as 
the tutelary goddess Minerva, was tonight the 
shrine of godly obeisance, and all who came 
within the charmed circle of her presence felt 
the brightness of her smile. Little did they 
dream that those penetrating gems of light were 
only the reflections of a burning flame 
bordering a heart clouded by sorrow. John 
Priest, the son of Henry Priest, and the 
bosom chum of Hansford Kalab, was present 
tonight in the disguise of Pluto. John Priest 


142 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


and Lucile Graham at one time were students 
at the University of Texas, during which time 
a strong attachment and warm affection existed 
between the two lovers; but because of young 
Priest’s continual dissipation, their engagement 
was severed, much to his sorrow, and to the 
chagrin of the two designing fathers. Priest and 
Graham, who in their wild rage for gold, gold, 
gold, were willing to sacrifice the happiness of 
their children at an altar where the fires of love 
burned not, and where only its cold ashes were 
urned as a memento of the past, and as an 
awful warning to the dissipating wouth who 
attempts to twine his myrtle with the violets of 
a virtuous love. 

The contriving brain of Henry Priest real- 
ized the great benefit his business would receive 
in his son ’s matrimonial alliance with the daught- 
er of the infiuential Judge Graham. On the 
ether side, Lucile ’s father was desirous that his 
daughter marry a man of wealth, it mattered 
not how many of the vices clung as parasites 
to the gold dollar, for in the eyes of the avarous 
JTudge, the crowning glory and virtue of a man 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


143 


is in his wealth. It was of no consequence to 
him that the raw material which produced the 
pompous wealth, was wrung from the rags of 
poverty or gushed forth from a fountain of tears. 

John Priest’s eyes penetrated every re- 
cess of the grounds in search of the man he hated ; 
he was not to be found. He knew of the plot 
between Senator Bradley, Judge Graham, and 
his father; he also knew that St.Clair was in 
the city late that afternoon, and that he would 
have been present tonight had not the scheme 
worked in the complete execution of the plot. As 
he realized his mastery at last over his dreaded 
rival, a blush of joy and a smile of victory 
lighted his face, as he searched now for her 
who in the past had bruised and crushed his 
heart. 

‘‘Ah! Here she comes,” muttered John, 
as he saw Lucile leave one crowd to 
join another. “I’ll meet her tonight as a god 
and in the majesty of my power; the fear that I 
inspire and the gold that I give, will destroy 
her affection for George St.Clair, that damned 
peer of the laborer, the infernal paramount of 
the masses.” 


144 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


‘ ‘ Oh ! Mr. Priest, have the gods offended 
yon, that you so cruelly isolated yourself from 
them?’^ exclaimed Lucile , as she stood before 
John. 

‘ ‘ Oh the gods, the immortal gods of 
Eome! What care I for them. My mission 
is to a broader and more pleasant sphere, a 
sphere which receives its radiance from the smile 
of but a single goddess. Come, Miss Graham, 
and accompany me upon this promenade to yon- 
der recluse ; I wish to speak with you, ’ ’ pleaded 
John, as he offered his arm to Lucile. 

‘ ‘ Thank you, Mr. Priest, but as I am the host- 
ess this evening, would it not be proper for us 
to remain in the midst of my invited guests T’ 
“As Kate seems to be exercising that func- 
tion in a most captivating manner, sup- 
pose you relinquish the hostess-ship for a few 
moments, and favor me with your company.’^ 
“Very well, Mr. Priest,” replied Lucile, as she 
. took Henry ’s arm and started with him. After 
a short stroll along the winding path, they came 
to a rustic bench which lay in the shade of an 
old oak whose rugged and stately form was em- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


145 

braced in the soft green foliage of the tendriled 
ivy. 

‘‘It seems to be the fond remembrance of the 
days gone by that leads us here with its 
invisible hand. The same star that shines 
over us tonight, was the one that sat 
within its celestial orb as an angel of light, 
and recorded the vows that we made to each 
other during that evening,'' said John medita- 
tively, as they sat upon the bench. 

“Ah, no! The star that shines tonight, spread- 
ing rays as a mantle of sweet hope over the. 
poor and down-trodden of earth, can not be the' 
brilliant star of that evening, whose lustre since* 
has been dimmed, and its fires extinguished in, 
the deceptive spirits of the wine cup," replied’; 
Lucile with much feeling. 

“Oh! Those words, those cruel words re- 
minding me of a thoughtless dissipation and a 
folly that robbed me of the brightest hope of my 
life, tore you from my throbbing heart, and' 
thrust a thorn in its place. But even then I 
could not tear from its portals the image of the* 
girl I loved, for every where I went it seemed as; 


146 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


tho’ she followed. Even into the haunts of 
deepest degradation her beautiful spirit of love 
and virtue was before me as my heavenly pro- 
tectress; then I hung my head in shame and 
wished for just a moment of those other days. 
It was the inspiration of your pure life that led 
me from the mire to the mountain pinnacle. Ah 
ILnmle^ that star yonder, so bright and beauti- 
:^ful, shines never before, to reflect the pure 
plife of a regenerated man.^’ 

^^John, I am glad that you have resolved 
ito battle against the giant tempter whose 
’fcase mission on earth is to destroy the 
physical man, wreck the grand temples of men- 
tality, and blast to eternal damnation the price- 
less souls of men, the spiritual architecture of 
. God, ’ ’ said Lucile gently. 

'‘There is but one who holds the destiny of 
fChat grand trinity of which I am composed, 

• my physical, mental and spiritual life ; there is 
^but one who can lift me from the valley of death 
^up to life eternal; there is but one who can 
^•destroy the awful demon that follows blood- 
f^hirsty upon my path ; you are that one, 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


147 


your betrothed hand my only defense, your pure 
heart my only refuge,” replied John, as the 
tortures of excruciating agony traced them- 
selves upon his pale brow. 

“The closing flesh that instant ceased to glow, 
The wound to tortue, and the blood to flow.” 

Lucile was silent for a few moments, then 
with a subdued sigh she answered: “John! 
I can not bear the responsibility of so 
priceless an object as a human soul ; the 
brain of mortal man can not conceive its great- 
ness; in fact we know not what it is, but it is 
something immortal, around which the mortal 
is coiled ; something intangible within the 
human breast that is blest of God ; some- 
thing that is susceptible to the commis- 
sions and omissions of the mortal power ; 
soemthing that causes the angels of Heaven to 
weep if lost, or to rejoice and sing the praises 
of the Celestial Court, if saved. The only path 
that leads to life eternal, is that which courses 
through the avenue of prayer— the most 
effectual means to ennoble and refine and spirit- 
ualize our natures. ’ ^ 


148 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Lucile! God never made a more miserable 
man than I; he has cursed me and I am lost, 
lost forever/^ cried John, as he bowed his head 
upon his breast. 

‘^You are very ungrateful to Him for all he 
has done. Has he not lavished upon you the 
golden luxuries of wealth?’^ exclaimed Lucile, 
as she eagerly studied the expression on John^s 
face. 

^‘Ah, my wealth! My wealth! My ill-used 
wealth! The author of my degradation; the 
cruel instrument of my ruin. ‘Like Phaeton 
encouched in burnished gold,’ my soul is being 
driven to the fires of torment, not even the hand 
of Jupiter can draw me back from the Stygian 
billows; no hand but yours can loose the fet- 
ters of Satan; no heart but yours can shield 
me from his terrible wrath. Lucile be my wife 
and lift me to your high throne of purity, there 
to breathe from your hallowed lips the sweet 
inspiration of life eternal. Speak, Lucile, that 
I may know my fate, as your answer will either 
be robed in the glittering sunlight of life or 
draped with the darkness of death. 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


149 


* * * Restore to earth lost Eden’s 

Fadded bloom, and fling hope’s 
Halcyon halo o’er the wastes of life!” 

“John, forgive me if my answer, as the rug- 
ged barb of an arrow, wings its way to your 
breast and penetrates the vitals of life. Our 
separate and distinct natures are so adverse to 
each other, and our goal in life so different as 
to render tranquil affinity nothing less than one 
great ocean disturbed and tossed by storm and 
tempest. Forgive me, John, I can not be your 
wife.^^ 

‘ ‘ Oh Lucile, Lucile ! Why have you answered 
me thus? If you only knew how every act of 
mine would be subservient to your will; how 
every thought would be dedicated to your every 
pleasure, you would not smite my heart a mortal 
blow with the bludgeon of a negative answer. 
I have but one goal, and that is the great pedest- 
al upon which rests the towering column of your 
happiness, around which cling the flowering 
vines of your desires — . ’ ’ 

“But you do not know the cause to which I 
have offered the services of my life ; its victory 


150 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


and triumph is the goal to which I have turned 
my face, and the path that carries me thither 
loads over your crushed hopes on toward the 
seat of the re-instated power of the Common 
People,’’ interrupted Lucile. 

^‘Then you have sworn allegiance to the riff- 
raff, and vengeance against the house of Priest, 
in obedience to the dire commands of the guile- 
ful and bewitchful St.Clair,” replied Henry 
sharply. 

‘‘I must insist Mr. Priest, that you speak 
more respectful of Mr. St. Clair, as the exalted 
purity of his character does not warrant the 
thrust you have just made. It was because of 
his stainless life and unselfish ambition that he 
was raised to the grand leadership of his peo- 
ple, a great and powerful people, who 
can not be truthfully classed as the riff- 
raff, but as the bone and sinew of this nation. 
You must remember it was Frederick The Great 
who compared the common people to the mighty 
obelisk, and his words are burning like fires 
of inspiration within our breasts, giving us 
renewed spirit to strike again for the lost 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


151 


heritage of the oppressed. In speaking upon 
this subject he said, ‘The obelisk is tall and 
slender, and yet it stands firm amid the most 
furious storms. It says to you: Ma force est 
ma drolhtre. The culmination, the highest point 
overlooks and crowns the whole; it does not 
support it, however, but is supported by the 
whole mass underlying it, especially by the in- 
visible foundation, deeply imbedded in the earth. 
This supporting foundation is the people in its 
unity. Always be on the side of the people, so 
that they will love and| trust you, hs they 
alone can render you strong and happy 

“Lueile, I see now that you possess that char- 
acteristic frailty of your sex, a wild concep- 
tion of human nature; a sympathetic heart 
gushing with tears at the sight of the dog^ 
that is down, and in its delusive state paints 
the vices of the lowly with the tints of virginal 
and civic virtue, with as much consistency as 
transforming black bitumen into the brilliant 
pearl of Omen.’’ 

“In behalf of the feminine sex I must thank 
you for the lovely tribute you have paid them,’^ 


152 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


said Lucile sarcastically, “ but I am at a loss 
to know why those of the opposite sex can so 
strongly adore that mystery of all mysteries, 
that perplexing seventh wonder of the world, 
known, worshipped, and caressed as woman.^^ 
‘‘Man is strong and broad enough to over- 
look the minor frailties of woman, and cling 
as a parasitic vine to the higher and nobler at- 
tributes of her nature. 

‘What peremptory, eagle-sighted eye 
Dares look upon the heaven of her brow, 

That is not blinded by her majesty?’ ” 

“Then your estimation of woman . places 
her above an earthly prodigy, and on the 
fair Parnassian heights shrines her mystic 
charms as the divine phenomenon which attracts 
and inspires men to deeds of prowess. ’ ^ 

“Lucile! Let us terminate this cold theo- 
retical love which falls from the lips as crisp 
chaff upon a hungry heart,’’ exclaimed John 
as he arose to his feet, and stood before her. 
“When I speak of woman, I mean you — you 
alone, the source of inspiration far more power- 
ful than the Castalian nectar of the Muses. Lu- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


153 


cile, I again ask you to be my wife; remember 
your answer carries with it the occult power 
of death or life.’’ 

“John! I am sorry that you persist in ex- 
tracting from my heart that which pains me to 
utter, and wounds you to hear. I can not marry 
you.” 

For a moment all was still, even the zephyr 
of the night hushed its soft whisperings in con- 
scientious reverence for the fatal answer which 
shrouded a mortal life ; the tossing boughs of the 
nearest trees were now still, and seemed to drop 
their foliaceous forms in solemn meditation ; the 
earth’s nightly statellite, draped herself with 
the darkest cloud, and cast weird shadows of 
mourning over the scene. 

John raised his bowed head and thrust his 
hand into the bosom of his coat. As he with- 
drew it, the polished blade of a dagger flashed 
before the eyes of Lucile with the fire of pro- 
phetic tragedy. The shock was so great that 
her physical faculties seemed paralyzed; she 
could neither move nor speak. “Lucile, Fate 
held before me a cup containing the white beads 


154 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


of life mixed with the black beads of death, I 
drew for the white, but have received the black 
— the execution of this decree means death. 

‘For Fate decreed one wretched man to fall.’ 
Now in the last moments of my life I’ll give a 
tongue to my thoughts and forgive the girl 
who has ruined me, while I curse with my lips 
him who, serpent like, has stung my life to 
death while wearing the myrtle crown woven 
for my brow. Farewell Lucile, farewell for- 
ever.” 

The arm was drawn, and the fatal stroke 
descending as Lucile sprang, and with the 
strength of a tigress wrenched the instrument 
of death from his agonizing grasp and threw it 
into the murmuring stream. 

‘^My God! My God! What does this man 
mean?” cried Lucile, as she sank exhausted 
upon the bench. 

“I begged for the balsam of love to soothe 
and heal a broken heart, you pitilessly denied 
me the unction of your life as a balm for mine ; 
my soul was parched and fevered, and the agon- 
izing thirst for your love transformed me into 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


155 


a madman; I sought to quench its flames in 
the potion of death which infected the point of 
that dagger, but this last and only alternative 
you have snatched from me. Lucile, you have 
become the evil genius of my life ; the 
torturer of my soul; you have stayed my arm 
but for a moment; you have snatched a brand 
from the burning, but it will be thrown back 
again; I’ll flee from you, and when alone 
open the mortal doors of this incarnate prison 
bouse, and give a free wing to the fetered'^ 
soul. 

‘^But is not the mortal life, the great batery 
that generates the eternal light of the soul? 
Destroy that God-given battery, and you destroy 
forever the power of hope which gives to the 
soul the celestial light throughout eternity,., 
which when darkened is consigned to a state 
of torture where the fires are not quenched, and 
the worm dieth not. Then, again, it is weak- 
ness to crush the spark of life with the hand 
of revenge,” answered Lucile, in a voice mellow- 
ed with pity. 

The evil spirit within John’s' breast threw 


156 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


off its hypocritical mantle and revealed the 
savage nature of the hyena that hungers for 
human flesh; from his lustful leye leap 
ed licentious flames that would devour the souls 
of the chaste. ‘‘Ah! You proud little Saint, 
the personiflcation of feminine virtue,’^ sneered 
John, as he folded his arms upon his breat. “I 
will then force you to marry me; my will is 
supreme, and yours must be subservient to it.^^ 

“John Priest‘ I shall never become your 
wife,’^ cried Lucile, as she sprang to her feet. 
“There is no power on earth to force such an 
alliance; there is no power strong enough to 
fetter my mental faculties in such a dire state 
of servility.’’ 

“Oh! The power that shall triumph over 
you is neither physical nor legal, it is greater 
than the two combined; it will take the bloom 
from your cheeks, and pestle your heart in a 
mortar of tears; your head will droop in shame 
upon your bosom, as the lily that is bitten and 
blighted by the frost of early autum; society 
will push you from its embrace, and as an out- 
cast you will fall from high estate to the depths 
of unchastity — ” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


157 


‘‘You fiend! Your fiend! What do you mean 
by insulting one as pure as the spotless robes 
of the angels ; one as chaste as they, ’ ’ interruped 
Lucile with a smothered cry, as she sank down 
upon the bench. 

A vindictive smile curel the lip of John 
Priest as he replied. “You are now within 
my power; your reputation is in the balance, 
and I hold the deciding weight; you may be ‘as 
chaste as ice, as pure as snow, but if you per- 
sist in refusing me your hand, the tongue stabs 
of calumny will destroy you.^’ 

“You wretch, how dare you enter with your 
cloven feet the sanctity of a woman’s virtue, 
and there with a venomous tongue defame that 
which is blest and sanctified of God?” 

“As the favorite prince of America’s Court 
of aristocracy, and as one who hungered for the 
love of a virtuous woman, I sought your realm 
with that chivalry which gilded the age of 
knighhood ; I knelt before your throne and 
wooed for the possession of that which actu- 
ated the wild throbbing within my breast; as 
the result, the portals of your heart were openr 


158 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


ed, and in triumph I entered its chambers, the 
palace where I was king. For a season I feasted 
on what I thought to be the god’s ambrosia, 
but soon I realized ’twas nothing but the sor- 
row of mortals ; your balmy smiles were changed 
into piercing frowns, and with your sceptre 
transformed into a lash you drove me into the 
darkness of eternal night. From the high throne 
of the king of love you cast me to the low depths 
of a devil of hate, who wandered as an exile 
amid the crushed hopes of life ’s noctural gloom ; 
climbing back at last to the exalted peak of your 
domain, I appear before your throne again, not 
with the courtly homage of a prince whose heart 
is aflame with the passions of love, but as a 
poor devil whose blood is hot as seething metal 
with the potion of retaliation, I claim tonight, 
‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’.” 

Lucile quickly recovered from the awful shock 
she received, and now realized that this 
was a moment of danger; a moment when the 
cruel instincts of the brute gain supremacy 
within the human breast. Now was the time for 
action, quick action, tactical action for he 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


159 


Slow drew another dagger from his bosom 
which flashed in the light of the moon the awful 
signal of death. His eyes were like two spheres 
of lurid Are which leaped for like the flames 
from the dragon’s mouth. The issue now was 
Life or Death. “ Oh if I could only wrench that 
-keen blade from his hand, I would flee to those 
who would protect me,” thought Lucile, as her 
face ashened with the fear of an awful crime. 

John Priest seemed to read her thoughts, 
for with a threatening tone he exclaimed, ”If 
you attempt to escape from me, or try to snatch 
this weapon as you did before. I’ll plunge it 
into your breast, then into mine, and together 
we’ll sweep the billows of the Styx. I brought 
you here that we might erect a shrine of love, 
but instead, you have forced me to make of 
this recluse a place of death, where two mortals 
are to leave the physical and seek the shades 
of the spiritual. Within the next two minutes 
prepare yourself for that transformation, for 
the decree of Fate is, that we both must die. 
Remember, a shriek or a single movement on 
your part means instant death.” 


160 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Lucile was helpless ; what was she to do ? bend- 
ing over her stood the ghastly form of her re- 
vengeful lover, with dagger drawn to silence her 
lips should they cry for help ; to still any move- 
ment of retreat should she attempt to escape. 
Hope had disrobed itself of its glittering vest- 
ments and like a winged arrow sped away 
into the darkness of the night, to give place to 
the draped form of Lachesis, who seemed to be 
present as the exeeutrice of that awful decree 
which ordered the severance of the thread of 
life. 

Lucile for a moment was silent, her head fell 
upon her breast, while her brain was busy. ‘‘Is 
not God more powerful than the deathly agencies 
if man?’’ thought she; then lifting her head 
she raised her eyes toward the lighted heavens, 
and breathed a prayer upon the soft zephyr of 
the evening. “0 God! My God! If it be thy 
will free me from the clutches of this man. 
Change his heart and make him kind and noble, 
that he may become a blessing to his coimtry, 
and an honor to his God. Amen.” 

This little prayer calmed and strengthened 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


161 


A new thought came to her: “111 snatch the 
dagger from his grasp, then flee away. ’ ’ As this 
thought was conceived she acted upon the iin- 
pulse of the moment and sprang upon her 
would-be murderer, grabbing the weapon from 
his hand. 

Free at last, she made her way back to the 
large circle of her guests, returning in such a 
way as to appear among them before they could 
detect that she was alone. At the close of an- 
other hour the guests departed, and Lucile and 
Kate were alone together in their room, one with 
a heart as light as heavenly ether, with the 
music of love resounding throughout its cham- 
bers, the other with a heart as heavy as lead, 
throbbing with the fever of sorrow and pain 
which enveloped the “fountain of life^^ with, 
the venom of an awful slander. 


'O magic sleep! O comfortable bird 

That broodest o’er the troubled sea of the mindi 

Till it is hush’d and smooth!” 


162 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER VII. 


‘‘Cancel his bond of life, dear God, I pray. 
That I may live to say, the dog is dead!” 


) Hahsiord Kalab entered his 
room at the Driskill, upon his re- 
turn from the social function at 
the Graham home, he stepped 
‘"l^ack in amazement, and, in a tone of surprise 
■’"and terror, exclaimed: “Great God, John! 
What’s the matter? Your eyes are blood-shot 
'and wild like those of a madman? What has 
■seized you, the mania of love, or the delirium 
of the wine cup?” 

John Priest rose to his feet, and stared for 
a moment into the face of his chum. His face 
flushing 'svith uncontrollable anger, he answered 
with a hiss; “Damn the vital-functions that 



THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


163 


bind me to the cankered stings of this hellish 
earth. ’ ’ 

“Well, I must confess you look like a poor 
devil who had been whipped from Paradise, and 
poisoned with that strange and peculiar potion 
of ‘Lovers sweetness turned to gallM^’ 

“Yes, of the bitterest gall,’’ replied John 
with a sigh; “but its bitterness gives me now 
a desire to live, that I may plant the sharp 
thorns of revenge within the breast of Lucile 
Graham, thorns that shall spring up like drag- 
ous’ teeth, and hungerly destroy her, 

‘Longing they look, and gaping at the sight. 

Devour her o’er and o’er with vast delight!’ ” 

“But how do you hope to effect this awful 
revenge? Does not Lucile Graham bear the 
reputation of being the purest of her sex ; a girl 
whose character is as spotless as dews of morn- 
ing that visit the petals of the fairest lily?” 
asked Hansford, as he took a chair, and lighted 
his cigar. 

“Damn her chastity,” cried John with re- 
newed anger, “She may guard the portals of 
virtue as the most careful virgin, but I shall 


164 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


weave a slander around her reputation that will 
fall as a blighting germ upon the petals of this 
so-called lily. By the eternals, Hansford, I 
have sworn revenge, and shall not relent until 
she is the victim of my power, the outcast of 
society, the fair idol of George St. Clair, drawn 
and crushed to earth by the awful and power- 
ful force of a soiled reputation.’’ 

**Ah! Then, the supremacy of George St. 
Clair in the heart of Lucile Graham, has actu- 
ated you with an evil desire to crush the un- 
blemished idol of his worship, and scatter its 
broken fragments into the filthy mire of gos- 
sip.” 

** Hansford KalaV ” exclaimed John, as he 
sprang with surprise to his feet. *‘Have you 
forgotten that I am a Priest, a commercial prince 
whose sire is the world ’s king of fianance ? Have 
you forgotten that it is to this powerful king that 
the common people of this nation must bow in 
servility ? for the sceptre of gold is supreme, and 
shall never be susceptible to the stings of de- 
feat, even though the virtuous Joan of the riff- 
raff is burned by the flames of slander.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 165 

‘^But from the ashes of a ruined life, often 
springs forth the awful inspiration of martyr- 
dom that recoils and strikes unto death the hand 
of him who was the aggressor. 

“But he who strikes first is more often the 
victor ; this little finesse of the war-fare of hearts 
shall render my action fruitful, and crown me 
the heroic survivor of the fray.’* 

“John Priest! You are a human enigma, 
that grows more ambiguous each day. Why 
are you now concocting schemes to destroy that 
which you wish to capture? Can the crush- 
ed arches of feminine intellect, the broken col- 
umns of her life, or the looted vaults of her 
virtue, bring comfort to your lustful eyes?” 
asked Hansford with contempt. 

“What do you mean by such insults?” cried 
John. “My standard of morality is as lofty 
as yours, for you have been guilty of razing 
the moral architecture of woman to its lowest 
level, by robbing her vaults of virtue of its most 
priceless gem ; I give you now to understand that 
such a moral pervert can not with safety to 
himself fling his insults at my feet, even though 


166 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


my eyes be like those of a vulture, I still possess 
the talone of an eagle, and shall not hesitate 
to swoop down, and truss unto their death those 
who oppose and insult me. Eememher, Hans- 
ford Kalab, I will be Caesar or nothing.’^ 

‘ ‘ Caesar or nothing, ’ ’ repeated Hansford with 
a merry twinkle in his eye, ‘^from the serious 
appearance of the condition of things, I am in- 
clined to believe the dagger of Brutus already 
rankles in the heart of him who so egotistically 
styles himself the powerful Caesar.’’ 

‘‘Hansford!” exclaimed John with some de- 
gree of impatience, “this is no time to make me 
the subject of your mirth. It is easy for you 
to jest at the scars of my heart when you have 
never felt the stings of a mortal wound. Unless 
you can apply a healing balm, then for my sake 
do not infuse a miserable poison which bums 
like vitriol upon the raw surface of my heart.” 

Hansford was silent for a moment as he gazed 
upon the wretched face of his closest chum, 
thoughts of the days gone by passed through 
his mind as sweet memories. His cold attitude 
toward John melted as do the ice-bergs 
when swept by tropical currents. With extend- 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


167 


ed hand he said, ^‘Forgive me, John, old fel- 
low, if I have, through the agency of passion 
added fuel to the flames which sweep the cham- 
bers of your heart, and crisp into a blackened 
char the ties that have so strongly bound our 
friendship from boyhood to this hour/’ 

“I forgive you, Hansford, for the words you 
uttered, for the words which cut the tissues of 
my heart like the keen edge of a Damascus blade ; 
but remember the hand that is extended to me, 
the hand I now grasp, must be the hand that 
will rise with mine to strike against the virtue 
of the girl who has tonight cast me as a worth- 
less devil into the grinds of George St. Clair.” 

^‘Then so be it, my dear John; the house of 
Priest towers supremely above the most 
queenly woman, there is no sacrifice the 
great to offer in the defense of its honor, and it 
is to you, most noble prince of its domain, that 
I extend not only the hand as the instrument 
of your revenge, but a heart to actuate it in 
subservience to your will. What are your 
plans?” 

“I have had no time to formulate my tactics 
for this bitter warfare against the reputation 


168 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


and character of the girl who has so unmercifully 
shredded my heart and who for the sake of an- 
other has steeped its torn fragments in the pois- 
onous hemlock; but let us abide our time until 
the fateful moment presents itself, then leaving 
no stone unturned, strike both the masculine 
heart that dared usurp the Elysian domain of a 
Priest, and the heart of feminality that happily 
submitted to the tendriled affections of the base 
usurper, and boldly rejected the hand of an 
aristocrat. What letter have you in your hand ? * * 

“A letter handed me by the clerk of the 
hotel, when I asked for the key to my room,'' 
replied Hansford, as he opened the letter. “By 
George! If it isn’t from Pat Crow, written in 
the cipher taken from the code of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, which reads as follows; 

“ ‘Hear Kalab : We have captured George St. 
Clair, and are now on the way to the secret cave. 
Any information you desire to give me, address 
J. H. Stanton, Austin, Texas, as Stanton is my 
incognito while in this service. Hand this note 
to John, and urge him to keep Bepuhlish posted 
as to our proceedings 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


169 


‘‘Who is ^Republish/ that he refers to in this 
letter/’ asked Hansford, as he handed the mis- 
sive to John. 

“The word Republish in our code is the 
nom de plume of America’s greatest Statesman, 
Senator Bradley of Texas.” 

“You are right, John, Senator Bradley pos- 
sesses a monumental intellect, and a magnetic 
influence that seems to hypnotize all who come 
within his reach, but he has a heart as black 
and rotten as the charred souls of the damned 
that have burned for a century in the furnace 
of Inferno.” 

“Damn his heart! exclaimed John with a 
sneer, “who cares about the color of his heart, 
whether it be white as mountain snow or as 
black as a raven’s wing, the only attribute we 
demand of those who serve our interests upon 
the flelds of legislation is that great incorproal 
power called influence; and for this power we 
gladly exchange our gold. Your father paid Sen- 
ator Bradley a bag of gold for his influence in 
Congress, and as a result he is today styled the 
lumber king of the South.” 


170 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


Hansford Kalab folded his arms upon his 
breast and during a moment of silence looked 
into the face of John Priest, with an expres- 
sion of wild delight, then suddenly exclaimed, 
^‘Yes! And your father paid a fortune to this 
incognizable Senator for his influence in Con- 
gress, from which he has today earned the title 
of the Oil Magnet of the North.’’ 

*‘Then the parallel paths of our childhood 
have now joined, and let the crown prince of 
Southern lumber interests unite with the crown 
prince of the oil interests, and with our con- 
solidated strength destroy the increasing 
power of the masses, and forever rule as the su- 
preme power of the nation.” 

“We are the supreme power of the nation,” 
cried Hansford with growing enthusiasm, “the 
power of the American dollar generated by cap- 
italized combines fetters the hands of the laborer, 
and holds his servile strength to the dictation 
of the capitalist. Even the Democratic party 
which boasts of Senator Bradley as her peer- 
less leader and advocate, is indeed an unconscious 
servitor of our interests, for she draws her cloak 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


171 


of partyism around him, under which he plays 
hands with his Republican allies and our con- 
gressional adversaries. The common people, who 
hate us and in their wrath cry out against us, 
contribute to our strength when they clothe their 
Senators with the ermine of their confidence ; 
for beneath this official vestment they whisper to • 
us these words of encouragement ‘fear not, I. 
am with thee all the days of thy existence \ ^ 

“Yes, these Janus faced senators are with us,’^ 
replied John meditatively, “but their spirit of' 
devotion is only actuated by the homage we pay 
them, the homage which carries with it a full 
bag of gold.’’ 

“Ah! The influence of those base betrayers 
is more valuable to us than their sworn allegi- 
ance is to their constituency, for their allegiance 
is the prostitution of a sacred oath.” 

John moved quickly over to where Hansford 
was standing, and in a low precautions tone ex- 
claimed, “let us be careful what we say here; 
every wall has an ear, every window an eye, 
and every fixture a tongue. The truth of the 
matter is this,” continued John, “Senator Brad-; 


172 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ley doesn T give a damn for this wild and woolly 
Texas; his ambition is for the supremacy of a 
larger field, a territory that is not bounded by 
rivers, but by oceans, a governmental scope over 
which fioats a fiag of stars and stripes, instead 
of this limited demesne which claims as its em- 
blem a bonny fiag with a single star.’’ 

'‘You are correct, old fellow, I heard father 
remark the other day that Senator Bradley’s am- 
‘bition had expanded itself beyond the bounds 
of Texas, and it is my opinion that like the 
majestic eagle poised on a high towering peak, 
he has already discovered the richest spots, and 
is now ready to take his fiight to the ambrosiac 
fields of his heart’s Elysia.” 

“Hansford, I have watched the eye of this 
great political eagle of Texas, and have seen it 
sparkle most with the fires of hungry avarice 
when centered upon the golden fruits of Wall 
Street. It is there, in my opinion, he will take 
his flight, and build his nest in the higher crags 
of federal polity; there he is free from the gib- 
ing sparrows of this State; safely refuged from 
'the wrathful tongues of a deluded populace,” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


173 


Hansford for a few moments studied the wild 
expression on John’s face, then quickly exclaim- 
ed, ^‘I wonder how long it will be until the pec>- 
ple of Texas become aware of the fact that an- 
other of their gods, attired in the robes of 
the Judiciary, has struck a mortal blow against 
them in defense of the Interests.” 

‘^I suppose you have reference to Judge Gra- 
ham,” replied John, with an embarrassed smile. 

refer to the only Judge of the Texas Bar 
whose official vestment sparkles with the gold 
of capitalized combines, and beneath which op- 
erates the machine that generates the power 
giving to monopoly its force and effect. Judge 
Graham has served us well.” 

“Yes! exclaimed John, as he gazed with fixed 
eyes upon the floor, “he has helped to build 
for us the mountains of gold that support our 
interests, but beyond this he has been power- 
less, his influence has not been strong enough 
in that other sphere, the only sphere of perfect 
happiness, where two hearts beat against each 
other, and where two loves are twined in one. 
With all my wealth, I am poor indeed; poorer 


174 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


than the beggar upon the street, for he begs and 
receives, while I beg but beg in vain. Think of 
it, Hansford, I, the son of a great oil magnet, 
holding at this moment a secondary place in the 
affections of any girl. Cursed a thousand times, 
a thousand times cursed be the name of George 
St. Clair, whose only distinction is a base 
notoriety — the leader of the common people. ’ ’ 
‘‘Ah tut! exclaimed Hansford with disgust, 
‘ ‘ forget your defeat, throw off every thought of 
-that girl, there are a thousand others that sur- 
.pass her, there are thousands like her.’^ 

“Ah, you are mistaken; to me there is but 
c one Lucile, and for that one, that only one, I 
would sell my soul as fuel for the 'fires of hell 
;if I could but give its price for her heart.’’ 

“John, you puzzle me. But a moment ago 
you were plotting her ruin, her disgrace, and 
her shame. You are mistaken, you have de- 
. ceived yourself, you do not love Lucile Gra- 
, ham.” 

“How do you dare to presume such,” replied 
John angerly, as he continued, “I do love her, 
but I would rather destroy her than see her 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. I7I 

worshipped by another; I would rather see her 
dead than the wife of George St. Clair, the 
base-born devil who egotistically aspires to the 
apex of aristocracy. I would rather see her 
in unfathomable depths of shame than for her 
to bear the name of the man I hate. 

John, you are mad, desperately mad, for no 
one but a madman would dare breathe the words 
you have uttered. Like Sampson of old, who 
wrecked the temple, when you destroy the vir- 
ginity of woman, you necessarily bury yourself 
beneath the ruins of a life.^^ 

‘^Well, I would be happy in purgatory, if I 
could but share its flames with her, for perchance 
I could draw her charing soul to mine and in 
that embrace await the purgation of all our 
earthly crimes.’’ 

Hansford burst into a hearty laugh at John’s 
picture of such a unique reconciliation, as he 
exclaimed, ‘‘What would you do, old fellow, if 
she should turn you down amid such a hellish 
environment? You would have no other courts 
to appeal to.” 

“Yes ! I would appeal to the Court of Heaven 


176 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


on a ‘Writ of Error/ and in my petition pray 
for a golden wing to bear us thither.” 

“Your petition would not be granted,” replied 
Hansford seriously, “for he who destroys the 
virtue of woman must burn forever in the fires 
that are never quenched, while her soul puri- 
fied of its dross, becomes a fair winged angel 
in the Celestial Court where the light of day is 
eternal and where Heavenly anthems are sung. ’ ^ 

‘ ‘ Hansford ! You make me tired ; one moment 
you are a cloven footed devil with every char- 
acteristic of his infernal majesty, seeking whom 
you may devour, the next moment you are an 
arch- angel as chaste as the driven snow. Your 
inconsistency nauseates me and with loathsome- 
ness I say ‘Physician heal thyself!’ No, I 
do not mean to be inconsistent when I warn 
you against wrecking the good name of Lucile 
Graham, for by so doing there is no profit for you ; 
on the other hand, when you raise your finger 
against that girl, your life ’s blood will be sought 
and shed by George St. Clair to satisfy the burn- 
ing thirst of his revenge. Take my advice, John, 
and leave this girl alone, lest you play into the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


177 


hands of one who will grind you to dust be- 
neath his feet. ’ ^ 

John threw himself back, and with a face 
flushed with anger exclaimed, “I shall never 
fear George St. Clair; he is now within my 
power, and before the chains that bind him shall 
be loosed, his blood shall answer for the estrange- 
ment of Lucile Graham from the heart and love 
of the crown prince of the greatest oil monopoly 
the world has ever known.’’ 

‘^Our detective was successful in capturing 
St. Clair; his capture means to us a valuable 
prize, if we but land the Hewett papers. If 
we fail to do this, we have gained nothing, noth- 
ing but a ‘white elephant bomid in chains and 
confined in a lonely cave.” 

“Hansford, our men have not only secured 
George St. Clair, but his grips and other bag- 
gage in which are concealed the Hewett papers;, 
without doubt we have accomplished our pur-. 
pose, and with the Hewett papers in our posses- 
sion again, we shall hold forever the only evi- 
dence against Senator Bradley’s traitorism to^^ 
the people of Texas.” 


178 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘You have painted a beautiful picture of our 
battle against the people of Texas; with glow- 
ing colors you have crowned it with laurel 
wreaths of triumph ; with purple you have robed 
an imperial trickster, and saved him from the 
clutches of a people he has ruined ; but you have 
not seen the picture painted on the other side 
of the canvass, a picture painted by the hand 
of fate with the blood of the Interests. When 
the Hewett papers are in our custody, and 
■■George St. Clair released, how then are we go- 
ing to still his tongue from breathing to the 
world the story of his capture, and the con- 
tents of the papers taken from him?’’ 

“Hansford! You are a fool,” cried John, as 
lie brought his fist down violently upon the table 
by his side, “George St. Clair shall never be re- 
leased, for the tongue that would speak against 
us shall, when he has served our purpose, be still 
and silent in the stiffness of death, and the hand 
of murder shall erase the picture drawn by fate, 
and upon the same canvass and with the blood 
'of St. Clair portray the all powerful and ever 
conquering giant, the world’s greatest monarch, 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


179 


the people’s most antagonistic power, the mon- 
strous giant monopoly.” 

‘‘But who will he commissioned to execute 
this murderous decree from the hand of the 
blood-thirsty Czar of the world’s most powerful 
throne.” 

“Pat Crow, the slickest detective that ever 
followed a trail; the keen scented, sharp eyed 
blood-hound of crimson tracks,” answered John 
in a low but excited tone. 

‘ ‘ If you take my advice you will not make Pat 
Crow a party to such a plot, for you would be 
forever at his mercy and subject to a lash that 
would cut you into threads. Pat Crow is a vil- 
lain, and would have no scruples against betray- 
ing you into the iron hand of the law, unless con- 
tinually fed upon hush-money.” 

“Nonsense!” exclaimed John scornfully, 
“George St. Clair must be murdered. The ques- 
tion is, who’ll do the deed? Will you? Of 
course not. Will I ? No, never. Then Pat Crow 
shall execute this decree, for George St. Clair 
must die; his blood alone can quench the fires 
of revenge which burn my heart as seething 
billows of hell.” 


180 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


**Then count me out of this game,” said Hans- 
ford with emphatic determination, shall not 
entrap myself in such a snare; I shall not jeop- 
ardize the cause of the Interests by placing my 
destiny in the custody of Pat Crow. ’ ’ 

** Hansford, you are a tender-footed egotist. 
Do you really believe that your doom would 
affect the dossal Interests one jot or tittle?” 

” I am not going to discuss with you the effect 
of my individual destiny upon the balances of 
the Interests, whether it will so disturb 
the equilibrium as to raise the scale in 
question to the vaults of Heaven, or lower 
it to the deepest depths of Hell. It is enough 
for me to know when you share the commission 
of that crime with Pat Crow as your accomplice, 
the result will be an inevitable exilement from 
the golden throne of a proud monopoly to the 
dark and gloomy cell of a condemned felon.” 

John looked with flashing eyes into Hansford's 
face, and in an angry tone replied, ^^Pat Crow 
is brave and fearless, you're a cowardly sneak. 
Go! You miserable poltroon, go to your evil 
haunted chamber, and in the weakness of your 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


181 


flesh, tremble for that which is to come, for but 
few days shall pass ere George St. Clair is mur- 
dered, and his blood shall cry out against you, 
and you, you alone, shall answer for his death.*' 
Hansford stared for a moment into the face of 
John Priest ; his eyes were like those of an angry 
tiger when ready to spring at the throat of an at- 
tacking enemy, then, with a voice chilled with 
tragic tone, exclaimed, ‘‘Use my name in con- 
nection with that crime and 111 plunge a knife 
into your heart. Raise your finger against the 
virtue, or your tongue against the name of Lu- 
cile Graham, and 111 kill you as I would a dog. 
This by the eternal gods I swear." Before 
John had time to reply, Hansford left the room. 


"Ah when will this long weary day have end! 

Long though it be, at last I see it gloome, 

And the bright evening-star with golden creast 
appeare." 


182 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

“A woman’s rank 

Lies in the fulness of her womanhood; 
Therein alone she is royal.” 



UDGE GRAHAM had just return- 
ed from his office down town, and 
was sittinginhis library before the 
glowing fire which burned in the 
grate. As he watched the brazen coals trans- 
form themselves into golden images his ava- 
ricious nature asserted itself in a wish, the para- 
mount desire of his life, a desire for power to 
accumulate great riches. Like the tiger of the 
dark jungles which tastes of human blood. 
Judge Graham had tasted of the golden drops 
which fell from Monopoly’s enchanting foun- 
tain and he was willing now to even bum his 
own soul like lumps of coal in the furnace if 
he could but transform its ashes into grains of 
glittering gold. He had formed an alliance with 
Bradley and they together were bartering the 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. IgS 

natural heritage of the Texas people for a filthy 
mess of golden pottage. 

‘^Ten thousand dollars for my day’s work,” 
muttered Judge Graham, as he drew himself up 
in his chair, and with a broad smile paid a silent 
tribute to his individual success — ^his country’s 
ruin. ^‘If every day was like this one, it would 
not be long until I would bear the title of The 
Croesus of Texas.” 

A frown clouded the Judge’s brow as 
he heard his daughter’s words in the hallway; 
she was speaking to Kate, and her voice seemed 
toned by sorrow as she exclaimed, “Ah Kate! 
You have a vain ambition, ‘Vanity of vanities;’ 
all is vanity. Wealth can not make you happy, 
but may darken your happiness, as the tiny 
worm blasts the petals of the rosebud in which 
it is hidden.” 

“You foolish child, you do not know the ways 
of the world, and what it loves most. Woman, 
beautiful woman, is the world’s choicest prize. 
Woman with her superb figure, rich attire, and 
jeweled hand is the shrine at which all men bow 
in courtly deference — ” 

“Ah, courtly diffidence, I suppose is what 
you mean?” said Lucile with a sarcastic smile, 
as she and Kate entered the library. 

“No, Lucile, I meant exactly what I sad;. 


184 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


man^s feminine ideal is an ostentatious woman. 

‘‘Kate, you have not mentioned the grandest 
attributes of the noble woman, therefore man^s 
ideal does not possess them; and if she does 
not, she is an unwomanly woman, a dangerous 
woman; yes, Kate, a base woman, a vile in- 
triguess whose influence robs Heaven of its un- 
developed Angels and demonizes ‘the bottomless 
pit^” 

“Then, if I have not pictured the typical 
woman, pray tell me who she is, where she is, 
and what she does,^^ asked Kate ironically. 

‘ ‘ She is a woman with a pure heart ; she exists 
among us, and her life is given to the moral up- 
lift of her sex, and the establishing of an equal 
standard of virtue; for in the glory of her 
womanhood she demands that the man she loves 
must be as pure and unblemished in character 
as she herself. Such women are the foundation 
of this government and society, women upon 
whose brow rests the brightest halo of Heaven, 
and in whose heart rolls the billows of eternal 
love. ’ ^ 

“Lucile, your ideals are entirely too exalted; 
in fact they are too sublime for earthly realities, 
and more fitted for romances in Heaven — if 
Cupid has a station there. Look around you and 
count the many Magdalenes and lecherous lords 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


185 


of creation, then lower your standard of moral- 
ity that it may embrace the average mortal. 

‘‘Kate, I am astonished at you,’^ cried Lucile 
with surprise, “I shall never lower the standard 
which God himself has raised, the high stan- 
dard of purity for which Christ died, and 
through whose blood the vile ‘though their 
sins be red like crimson may be white like 
woor.^' 

“Do you believe that in all the world you 
can find one pure man?^’ Kate asked with a 
smile. 

“I believe there are thousands of pure 
men, but shame to the womanhood of 
this world that there are not millions 
of pure men : shame I say to the womanhood of 
Texas that they do not demand as much of the 
men they marry as the men demand of the wom- 
en they marry.” 

“You are engaged to George St. Clair, do 
you believe that he is as virtuous as you your- 
self?” 

“Yes, Kate, he is as pure as the snow flakes 
that whiten the earth, and I love him as a pagan 
loves his god, but I have lost him, yes lost him 
forever ; our engagement is broken, ’ ’ replied Lu- 
cile, as tears gushed from her eyes. 

“Your engagement broken!” asked Kate, 


186 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


with a smile of joy she could not conceal. *‘When 
did all this happen, and what caused the storm 
which tore you from him?” 

“You remember last afternoon when he call- 
ed?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, I was the happiest woman in all the 
world, but before he left me, I was the most 
miserable ; 0 could I draw him back to my heart 
this moment, my happiness would be unbounded 
and my joy would expand itself to the apex of 
the heavens. ^ ’ 

“My dear little girl,” said Kate affectionately, 
as she threw her arm around Lucile and drew 
her close to her heart, “tell me everything, con- 
fide in me that which troubles you; that which 
breaks your heart. ” 

“0, Kate! Do not ask this,” cried Lucile, 
as she buried her tear-stained face in the bosom 
of her chum; “that which tore us from each 
other is a secret that seals my lips and cuts my 
heart in twain.” 

Judge Graham heard all that passed be- 
tween the two girls, who had not yet perceived 
his presence; and when he heard of the broken 
engagement between his daughter and George 
St. Clair, his heart throbbed wildly with joy; 
at last the great obstacle was removed which 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


187 


stood as a barrier between him and the goal he 
sought. 

daughter! My daughter!” cried Judge 
Graham, as he stood beside the two girls who 
were embraced in each other ^s arms. It grieves 
me to see you so sad; come sit down and let us 
talk this matter over, and see if we can’t find 
the cloud’s silver lining and the bright stars of 
the night,” continued the Judge, as he assisted 
Lucile to the chair by his side. 

Kate slipped quietly from the library, leaving 
father and daughter alone to discuss matters 
which involved the destiny of a human life, the 
happiness of one so young, so pure, so beauti- 
ful. 

* * Father, dear ! The dark clouds that have 
so cruelly enveloped my life are not tinged with 
silver light, and the night into which my hap- 
piness has been plunged has not a single satellite 
of hope to allay the pain that throbs within my 
breast. All is lost, yes, lost in darkness!” cried 
Lucile, as she laid her tearful face against the 
back of the large arm chair in which she was 
sitting. 

‘‘Lucile! All is not lost, you have gained, 
gained all; for the path which seems to lead 
you now into Gesthsemane ’s garden of sorrows, 
leads on to Elysia — .” 


188 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Ah no! Ah no, to Golgotha, to Golgotha,*^ 
interrupted Lucile with a sob. 

“You are young, my darling, and in a short 
time you will forget your engagement to St. 
Clair as its broken ties uncoil themselves from 
around your heart, giving place to those which 
are stronger.^’ 

“Oh father, do not talk this way, your words 
cut the crushed heart of your poor child like 
a knife; I shall never forget him, I can never 
tear his image from my heart; for in my 
thoughts I will live my life over again, and dwell 
in the sunshine of the past, that part of the 
past we spent together, and around which so 
many pleasant memories cling. Ah no, my 
heart shall be forever closed to another, for an- 
other can never fill its place like the man I 
love. Never ! Never ! ’ ^ 

“But, my child, nature has lavished upon 
you those physical attributes which are char- 
acteristic of the most beautiful of your sex; has 
endowed you with many amiable and attractive 
qualities which tinge the physical with a glow 
of unsurpassing beauty, these things together 
with your father’s prestige have given you an 
opportunity to pluck the golden fruits of this 
world and become one of the leading ladies of 
America, but you scorned this ambition — ” 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


189 


^^Yes! For I had rather be a doorkeeper in 
the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents 
of wickedness;” interrupted Lucile, as she raised, 
her head and threw herself proudly back in her 
chair. 

‘‘Well not discuss capitalism from a moral 
standpoint; we have discussed this before, and 
as a result the breach between father and 
daughter grows greater each time. I heard you 
tell Kate a few moments ago that the cause of 
the estrangement between you and St. Clair was 
a secret, and that your lips are sealed, but I 
am your father and surely you will confide in 
me everything, everything that has caused the 
alienation of your affections,” said the Judge 
with an assumed tenderness. 

‘ ‘ Father, I have always been an obedient child, 
actuated in my obeisance by the filial affections 
within my breast, and because of the subordi- 
nate station a child occupies in the 

home. But now as I sit amid the sor- 

rows of my broken engagement, with the crushr 
ed hopes of life lying at my feet, I must be 
silent, for my silence is actuated by a duty as 
sacred as an oath, as high as Heaven and as 
boundless as the world,” replied Lucile with 
much feeling. 

“Then you are bound by a promise to keep 


190 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


silent, a promise made to the man who has crush- 
ed your heart, the scoundrel who has made a 
mere play-thing of your affections. Is it true 
that your fidelity to that wretch exceeds the 
confidence you might place in your father 

^‘You have misjudged the man whose love en- 
velopes my whole life, a man whose being is 
more like a god than a mortal; for his life is 
pure like that of a virgin, and beautiful like 
that of an angel ! ’ ’ cried Lucile as she rose quick- 
ly to her feet. 

‘‘A eunuch, I suppose,” smiled the Judge as 
he reached over to the table for a cigar. 

“Father, father, you must not, you shall not 
speak as you do about him; you must not as- 
sume an untruth, even though you hate him, hate 
him for what, God only knows,” said Lucile 
passionately. 

“I hate him! Yes, my child, I hate him! 
The brazen-faced varlet who presumpltuously 
aspires to the hand and heart of my life’s idol, 
the child of my own flesh and blood!” cried 
Judge Graham angerly, as he sprang to his feet 
with an expression of pain and hatred upon his 
face. 

“I repeat what I said a moment ago, you must 
not use such language in my presence against 
^George St. Clair,” replied Lucile defiantly. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


191 


‘‘You probably have forgotten that it was 
through you that I met him; because of the 
esteem in which he was held by you, th^t I 
learned to love him. Do you remember how you 
encouraged his suit, and advised me to cultivate 
his affections? May I ask what has caused the 
change in your attitude toward him ? ’ ’ 

“His traitorism; — and you Imow, my child, 
how I hate a traitor. 

‘ ‘ George St. Clair a traitor ! My God, father, 
what do you mean!'^ cried Lucile, as the flush 
of anger upon her cheeks gave way to the pale- 
ness of death. 

“I mean that St. Clair has become a party 
to a conspiracy as dark as Hell, a conspiracy 
formed for the purpose of impeding Senator 
Bradley’s rapid progress to the Presidency; and 
in order to carry out this base plot, they And 
it necessary to destroy the political life of this 
great intellectual genius who has risen over 
Texas as the guiding star of her destiny.” 

“Who is at the bottom of this alleged con- 
spiracy?” asked Lucile in a trembling voice, 
and with Are in her eyes. 

“Hearst, the ambitious journalist of New 
York, has bribed Hewett to surrender to the At- 
torney General of Texas documents belonging 
to the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, and which 


192 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


in their defaced state falsely incriminate the 
honor and integrity of Senator Bradley/’ re- 
plied the Judge with feigned emotion. 

^^But why have they drawn George into their 
net ? ’ ’ 

“Senator Bradley being his foster-parent, his 
charges against him will have more weight upon 
the minds of the masses, and bring about more 
quickly an insurrection against him; therefore, 
for a few pieces of gold this dishonorable and 
ungrateful reprobate and inhuman creature has 
betrayed his benefactor into the hands of the 
enemy with no more provocation than the 
Judas who sold his Christ.” 

“Father, this is too awful to be true, I can 
not believe that such sinister motives inspired 
George to strike this blow against the benefactor 
of his childhood.” 

“But if I prove it to you in such a way that 
there can be no doubt in your mind as to his 
cowardly treachery, will you then dismiss all 
thought of him?” asked Judge Graham nervous- 
ly. 

“Prove it!” cried Lucile, “and I will drive 
him from my heart as I would drive a wolf 
from the fold ; prove it, and I will lift my hand 
against him as I would against a villainous hypo- 
crite.” 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


193 


^‘Now, my daughter, you are talking sense; 
I always knew that you were made of the right 
stuff, and that your love for this scoundrel would 
last but for a season, and that it would reach 
its climax when your eyes were opened to his> 
baseness. ’ ^ 

‘‘Oh, father! You misunderstand me; my 
love for him shall endure forever, for he is 
grand and noble, yea, a prince among men.^’ 

“But the proof!’’ exclaimed the Judge stern- 

Jy* 

“Prove it, then; as I said a moment ago, I 
will surrender all to you, yes, even more; I will 
marry the man of your choice; but listen, you 
can never prove your allegation to my satisfac- 
tion, for I will believe it only when I hear it. 
from his own lips,” replied Lucile. 

“Your eccentricity is without parallel; your- 
perverse obstinacy is without bounds; your re^. 
fusal to marry John Priest, the son of a miL 
lionaire, and centering your affections as you. 
do upon one as humble as St. Clair, is like giv- 
ing up a great ship, the golden-plated argosy 
of the high-seas, for an ill-rigged schooner 
grounded upon a sandbar.” 

“I shall never marry, for the once proud; 
hopes of a married life are now in ashes; but 
from that ashen heap, which in the past waa^ 


194 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


fond dreams of domestic happiness, shall spring 
like magic, a Joan, the saviour of her peo- 
ple and the liberator of the poor and oppressed. 
Henceforth your daughter becomes a leader of 
the down-trodden, their God shall be her God, 
their pilgrimage her pilgrimage, their manna 
her manna, and at last, their Canaan her 
Canaan. ’ ’ 

Judge Graham’s face became pale as marble; 
for the first time in his life he realized the de- 
bilitation of his parental power and influence. 
This realization was like a sharp-pointed dagger 
fhrust into his proud heart. 

Por a few moments he stood like a statute as 
Tie gazed upon the face of Lucile; then with a 
deep, painful sigh exclaimed, ‘‘My God! My 
God! Has my child fallen so low and become 
so depraved that she now seeks the level of the 
riff-raff ! Has she become so cruel as to trample 
her father’s crushed heart into the dust in her 
wild eagerness to champion their cause ! ’ ’ 

“Father, I would not trample your heart be- 
neath my feet, but if you fling it as an obstacle 
across my pathway of duty, I will overleap it 
and follow the cloud by day, and the pillar of 
fire by night, for the hand of God will be in 
both,” replied Lucile, as the celestial light from 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 195 

heaven’s throne fell with radiance across her 
features. 

‘^Lucile!” exclaimed her father harshly, 
have pleaded with you, but my pleadings have 
been of no avail; I have tried to reason with 
you, but my reasoning has failed to convince 
you of your wrong course; and if you persist 
in assuming the role of Moses, I shall assume 
that of Pharaoh.” 

“Impossible,” cried Lucile in a triumphant 
tone, “for those who rallied around your stan- 
dard in the past, and clothed you with their con- 
fidence and placed upon your brow the civic 
wreath which adorns the Judicial office you now 
hold by virtue of their esteem and love; they 
are my hosts, for I first declared myself for 
their cause, and they are too brave and chival- 
rous to desert their leader on the eve of battle.” 

Judge Graham was silent for quite a while, 
the words of his daughter had cut deep, and 
his conscience now seemed like vitriol to the 
wound; but regaining courage he replied more 
harshly than before, “the Pharoah of today de- 
pends not upon legions of the riff-raff, but upon 
a mightier strength, a strength that will defy 
and defeat your countless hoards.” 

“Father! What do you mean by this? Sure- 
ly you would not raise your hand against a 


196 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


helpless people, a people to whom you are so 
indebted and who have done so much to honor 
you,^’ exclaimed Lucile in astonishment. 

‘‘Yes! I mean just what I said, and as a 
Graham has never known such a word as defeat, 
I shall carry out my plans to the very letter. 
You are trying to thwart the paramount pur- 
pose of my life, the purpose which has given 
wings to my ambition, but you shall not triumph 
over me, for I shall conquer even tho’ I be 
forced to invade the regions of Hell and battle 
against the Devil and his infernal troops,’’ re- 
plied the Judge in a tone of anger which seem- 
ed beyond his control. 

“Father, have you not forgotten that I too 
am a Graham? I assure you, sir, that as such, 
I shall not destroy the glorious precedent of vic- 
tory which for ages has emblazoned our family 
escutcheon, but, as the defender of the Graham 
name, and, as the deliverer of a noble but op- 
pressed people, I shall add a greater lustre to 
each and save both from the greatest depths 
of shame.” 

“But like thousands of your sex, you will be 
swept over the precipice of ruin and disgrace, 
for when the fairest of your sex endeavors to 
doff her skirts and don trousers, she falls like 
a blighted flower.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


197 


“For centuries womanhod has blushed in the 
gyves of her bondage; for centuries she has 
walked by the side of man, ‘something better 
than his dog, a little dearer than his horse,’ but 
today she is making her exit from the sombre 
shadows which have darkened her life, and with 
the dawn of tomorrow she shall be ushered into 
a brighter age, and the glorious era of woman’s 
franchisement and the people’s supremacy,” re- 
plied Lucile proudly. 

“Then St. Clair will wear the royal purple, 
I suppose,” smiled the Judge sarcastically. 

“No! In the government of the people there 
are no robes of purple, and our leaders are 
patriots whose hearts are pure and whose hands 
are clean, and such a one we have found in 
George St. Clair, the guileless instrument in the 
hands of God to lift the standard of civic morals 
toward Heaven, and place the sceptre of govern- 
ment with the pure in heart.” 

“My God, girl! You are blind to the moral 
leprosy which infects the god of your affections ; 
again, I say, he is but the villainous hireling 
of dark conspirators, his own letter to you con- 
firms what I have said — .” 

“What letter?” interrupted Lucile, as the 
paleness of fear drove the roses from her cheeks. 

“The letter he wrote to you at the Driskill 


198 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the afternoon following his call at our home, 
which, I believe, was the afternoon of the es- 
trangement between you and him. ’ ’ 

‘‘How came you in possession of that letter?’’ 

“He probably forgot to post it, as he left it 
in his room and it was found by the chamber- 
maid after he left the city, and was then 
sent to my office,” replied Judge Graham calm- 
ly. 

“You tore its seal and read that which was 
meant to be read by my eyes only!” exclaimed 
Lucile furiously. 

“Yes! A father’s first duty is the protection 
of his child, and in the exercise of that duty 
I read the letter which revealed a scoundrel, 
and now in the strength of a father’s love I 
extend my arms to save you from him, yes, 
child, from wreck and ruin.” 

“May I now have the privilege of reading my 
own letter?” asked Lucile sarcastically, with 
trembling lips. 

“Here it is, Lucile,” replied the Judge, as 
he handed over the letter, “read it and may 
Heaven protect you from the awful blow it 
contains. ’ ’ 

Lucile ’s brain was in a whirl. It seemed to 
her that she had been removed to another world, 
a world of pain and cruelty, a world of heart- 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


199 


aches and disappointments, a world of shattered 
roses and evergreen thorns. Many thoughts 
passed like lightning flashes through her brain, 
“Is it true that he whom I thought to be a 
Christian, is more like a Pagan god than like 
a disciple of the guileless Nazarene? Has he 
betrayed my confidence and crushed my heart 
for a priced’ With nervous fingers she unfold- 
ed the letter which read as follows: “My Lost 
Lucile: I suppose you will be surprised to re- 
ceive this letter from me, but in obedience ta 
the commands of my conscience I pen these 
lines. Since I left your home as an evil goaded 
spirit driven from the Paradise of my life, my 
soul has felt the flames of torment, the torture 
of which drives me to an open confession, a con- 
fession which will doubtless destroy my image 
in your heart as your proud ideal and transform 
itself in your mind as the sabeled knight of In- 
ferno. I have sinned against God and man, and 
last but not least, against the girl I loved. I 
can never expect to gain back that which I have 
lost, but in losing that which I had once gained^ 
is to fall like Lucifer, never to hope again. My 
treachery beggars description, and can only be 
told with lips as agonizing as mine. I have 
entered a base conspiracy formed by Hearst of 
New York to rob my benefactor, Senator Brad- 


200 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ley, of his good name and to destroy his influ- 
ence with the people of Texas. For the gold 
of William R. Hearst, I sold my soul, for his 
political influence I bartered my character, and 
as the villain of the plot I entered the arena 
and assumed my role. The Hewett papers which 
were the cause of our severed engagement, were 
as false as dicer oaths, and when I placed them 
in the custody of the Attorney General, I by 
that act thrust the dagger of falsity into the 
political heart of a pure and undefiled states- 
man. My God ! My God ! If I could but snatch 
them back and take my place again amid the 
rank and file of my people and occupy again the 
heart I have so misused, I would be the hap- 
piest man in the world; but for me there can 
be no Paradise regained; for I am now too un- 
worthy to enter that sanctuary again and claim 
its prize, but I shall seek some lonely spot and 
there where no eye may see, or where no ear 
may hear, disrobe myself of this mortal coil and 
enter that region where souls are purged of their 
blackest sins. Forgive me, Lucile, and in your 
prayers ask God to be merciful to me, the red- 
handed Iscariot, the black-hearted traitor. Fare 
thee well, George.’^ 

The letter fell to the floor, as Lucile with wild 
eyes and quivering lips stared into the flushed 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


201 


face of her father ; for a moment all was as still 
as the awful calm which precedes the crash of the 
storm, then she closed her eyes for a few sec- 
onds, and in that optical darkness saw the man 
she trusted and loved tear away the hypocritical 
vestment of truth, and in the revelation of his 
sordidness rend her tender heart like the bolt of 
the thimder which shatters the boughs of the 
oak. This mental portrait of her untrue and 
deceptive loved one was indeed a great contrast 
to her ideal lover of yesterday, ‘whose words 
were bonds, whose oaths were oracles ; v/hose 
love was sincere, whose thoughts were immacu- 
late.^ In her love of the past she had pictured 
his throne upon pinnacles that were lofty and 
stately, but now in her scorn she gazes upon the 
ruins of that throne which lie in the miry 
depths of dishonor. 

Lucile sprang to her feet as her hand clutch- 
ed the golden chain encircling her soft 
white neck, and with a maddened jerk broke 
its connecting link and threw it with its gold 
cross upon the floor at her feet. “Traitor! 
Traitor that you are! Take back this remem- 
brance that you gave me, and in the remorse 
of your conscience look upon that little cross 
and let it remind you of the one upon which 
Immanuel gave his life for the poor and op- 


202 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


pressed of the world!’’ cried Lueile as her eyes 
rested upon the chain. 

“Lucile!” exclaimed Judge Graham, as he 
arose and drew his daughter to him, glory 
in your resentment, and it fills my heart with 
pride to see my own child, in the strength of 
her noble womanhood, lift herself from amid the 
ruins of a broken heart and conquer a sorrow 
that would otherwise devour her.” 

“Father! It is hard to tear away from the 
ruins of a temple I had loved, a temple whose 
builder and maker was God, but whose destroyer 
was the host of Hell. jMy purpose in life calls 
me ownward, and to the cause that is dearer 
than my life, dearer by far than ten thousand 
lives, I answer ready, ready as a brave soldier 
for battle.” 

“What cause, my child? What battle?” 

“Father, I have often told you about the 
cause I was born to lead, the grand cause of 
the masses, and as their leader, I draw up 
our lines for battle in our warfare for natural 
rights and equal liberties.” 

“What!” exclaimed Judge Graham in sur- 
prise. “Is it true that you still nourish this 
dogma within your breast? That since the be- 
trayal of St. Clair and his open, yet cowardly 
confession, you are still determined to follow 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


203 


a course and champion a cause which receives 
its inspiration and vitality from dark plots of 
base conspirators?’’ 

“Father! I know what you mean, your love 
for Senator Bradley has created a fear, within 
you that the masses will rise up and in their 
madness for supremacy, disregard reason, and 
destroy the good name of Senator Bradley,” 
replied Lucile, as she threw her arms around 
her father’s neck, 

“Yes Lucile, this awful apprehension has 
robbed my last few nights of its sleep, and — 

Judge Graham did not finish the sentence, 
his face flushed as he realized that he had 
spoken of that which he should not have even 
breathed, that which connected him and Senator 
Bradley with crime against their State. 

Lucile did not notice this, as her confidence 
in her father was unbounded, and she attributed 
his loss of sleep to the great friendship that 
existed between him and Senator Bradley. ‘ ‘ My 
dear father, I see that you have a wrong con- 
ception of the masses, their ways and natures, 
they are not a radical, narrow minded people, 
who go off at a tangent, but a people who have 
a keen sense of right and wrong, who would 
give their lives to enforce the former, or die 
in the attempt to crush the latter. Therefore 


204 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


I shall arm myself with proof of Senator Brad- 
ley ^s innocence, and with the confession of 
George St. Clair, reveal the truth and save an 
honored name from the pits of shame and dis- 
grace.’’ 

Judge Graham pressed his daughter closer 
to his heart, and in words of deep emotion re- 
plied, ‘^My child, the chasm St. Clair created 
and which he caused to yawn between us, is 
now closed, and may God forbid that it ever 
be reopened to separate a father from his child. 
Go, my daughter, to the defense of Senator 
Bradley and Texas will honor you, and her 
children in years to come will rise up and 
call you blessed.” 

“Father dear, I bury the past in forgetful- 
ness,” answered Lucile as she kissed his lips. 

Stooping down she lifted up the little gold 
cross and held it between her fingers. “By this 
sign I conquer, the cross of Calvary shall guide 
me to a triumphant goal.” 


spirit pure as hers, 

Is always pure, even while it errs: 

As sunshine, broken in the rill. 

Though turned astray, is sunshine still.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


20S 


CHAPTER IX. 


“O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face! 
Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? 
Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical! 
Dove-feather’d raven! wolfish-ravening lamh! 
Despised substance of divinesl show! 

Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st, 
A damned saint, an honorable villain!” 



HE night through which Lucile 
had just passed, seemed to her as 
a dark and awful eternity, a 
gloomy darkness void of its hope- 


inspiring satellites. In her vain endeavor to 
forget the one who had for so long been the 
object of her love, the shrine at which she placed 
her heart, she was drawn by the awful force of 
memory, back along the paths to the over-flow- 
ing fountains where two thirsty hearts drank 
their fill of life’s sweetest elixir. Her mental 
faculties seemed dead and inoperative when 
she tried to picture George St. Clair as a traitor, 
betrayer, or base and avaricious conspirator 


206 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


having more hope in the dollar than 
in Christ; she could only see him as he was 
then, handsome as a god, noble and grand as a 
true patriot, with a love as pure and tender 
as that of a chaste woman. These were the 
thoughts that caused the tears to flow as a bit- 
ter stream of sorrow from the fullness of a 
bruised and agonizing heart, tears of loneliness 
and despair that moistened her pillow, and be- 
dewed her raven hair like the crystal gems of 
the morning as they sparkle from the foliage. 

Just before the gray streaks of dawn had 
invaded the darkness of the night, Lucile saw 
the glimmer of a little star of hope as it burst 
from the sable drapery of the sky, sending its 
rays upon a mission of cheer and comfort. 
^‘Probably he has not carried out his cruel in- 
tentions of self-destruction,^’ thought Lucile. 
‘ ‘ He may be living at this moment, sleepless and 
restless in the humility of his repentance. If 
he erred, it may have been thoughtlessness, for 
his heart was too pure and noble, and his 
thoughts too divine to conceive such a crime; 
his actions too much alike a god to give it 
birth.” 

With these thoughts she fell asleep, and if 
mortal eyes could perceive the things that are 
spiritual, they doubtless would have seen some 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


207 


favorite angel of God, wing itself from Heaven 
Court to her couch, and stooping down, kiss 
away the tears from her pale brow, leaving in 
their stead a smile of peace and contentment, 
as she dreamed of her hero-lover during the 
years that had passed. It was late in the day 
when Lucile awoke from her slumbers; not a 
sound could be heard, everything was as still 
as tho’ the Death Angel had swooped down 
like an eagle upon its prey, and had struck every 
member of the household a mortal blow. A 
heaviness she had never felt before seemed to 
spring like magic within her breast, pressing 
like lumps of cold lead against her heart. 

Lucile dressed hurriedly and went down to 
the library; as she entered she saw her father 
lay the morning paper upon the table, and turn 
to greet her. His manner toward her was 
strange, while the expression upon his face puz- 
zled her. Kate was seemingly interested in the 
book upon her lap, and a few moments elapsed 
before she spoke, but Lucile noticed a strange 
dissimilitude between her greeting this morn- 
ing as compared to those of other mornings. 
Lucile was quick to perceive this unusual 
strangeness of her father and Kate, which led 
her at once to believe that something was wrong, 
seriously wrong, and for a minute she gazed 


208 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


meditatively upon the fiery embers in the grate, 
before she could find courage to speak, but re- 
gaining her physical and mental faculties, facul- 
ties that were strong attributes of her glorious 
and wonderful womanhood, she exclaimed, 
‘^What has happened 

‘‘My child, why do you ask thisT^ replied 
Judge Graham with feigned surprise. 

“I spent a most miserable night, replied 
Lueile as she continued, “an awful fear seem- 
ed to hover over me, and like a thief, robbed 
me of my sleep, but finally I conquered what 
I thought was a weakness, and before daylight 
I passed into a deep slumber, but this did not 
last long, as I was awakened by that same fear 
which seemed to be clutching at my heart. I 
arose quickly and after dressing hastily, hur- 
ried to the library in order to escape the gloom 
which seemed to envelope my whole life, but in- 
stead of escaping, I find here written upon the 
faces of you both, the confirmation of that which 
haunted my night like the dark sceptre of death. 
Speak! Tell me all, something awful has hap- 
pened. ’ ^ 

“Lueile!’’ exclaimed the Judge after a pause, 
“you are right; something has happened; 
Themis has balanced an account upon her ledger ; 
one of her debtors has paid his debt; ‘an eye 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


209 


for an eye and a tooth for a tooth/ this debtor 
was George St. Clair who sowed the seeds of 
human destruction, and last night beneath the 
angry waters of the Colorado, reaped the har- 
vest he had sown. You will find a full account 
of the tragedy in the morning paper here upon 
the table. 

As Judge Graham finished speaking he left 
the room. 

With a heartbroken shriek Lucile fell into the 
arms of her companion, Kate Marshall, and there 
in the agony of a shattered heart drank from , 
the chalice of life its bitter dregs of sorrow. 

For an hour she sobbed upon Kate’s breast, 
and at intervals recalled the many happy hours 
spent with him ; how she had often looked with 
admiration into his noble face with as much 
pride as the daughters of Rome kissed the civic 
crowns of their hero-lovers, how she had planned 
with him for a grand crusade in the interest 
of the laboring class, and against their oppres- 
sors. She thought of the seven little violets 
he had given her the day of their engagement, 
which she had pressed and kept, that she might 
fulfill the wish he made as he placed the dia- 
mond upon her finger, a wish that she preserve 
the violets until the first laurels of honor had 
pressed his brow, then with her own fingers pin... 


210 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


them upon the lapel of his coat. These thoughts 
caused the fountain of tears to reopen and 
gush afresh until she wept it empty again. Kate 
tried in many ways to console and comfort Lu- 
cile, but her words could not penetrate that 
depth of her soul where the waves of sorrow 
billowed like an angry sea, and the storm within 
her bosom raged until at last it had spent its 
force ; then becoming calm she arose from Kate ^s 
embrace and opened the morning paper to read 
the account of George St. Clair’s death, her eyes 
fell upon the large head-lines, ‘‘GEORGE ST. 
CLAIR COMMITS SUICIDE BY DROWN- 
ING. ’ ’ With burning cheeks she read as follows ; 

“Last night about eight-thirty, George St. 
Clair, the well known leader of the laboring 
forces of this State, committed suicide by drown- 
ing himself in the Colorado river just below 
the old dam site. No one saw him commit the 
act, and the first evidence of the tragedy was 
an unoccupied boat drifting down the stream, 
which was caught by a party of pleasure seek- 
ers, who were rowing upon the lake at the 
lime. Upon investigation they found a note in 
the boat, which read as follows ; 

“ ‘To The Laboring Forces of Texas: — I once 
had the distinction of being the leader of your 
great army, the grandest and greatest army that 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


211 


was ever marshalled upon a civic battlefield. By 
brave encounters with the enemy, and by fear- 
less stands in defense of those principles I knew 
were right, I won your love, your confidence, and 
you esteem ; but the awful passion for gold burn- 
ed like consuming fire within my breast, sear- 
ing my conscience and devouring my honor, until 
at last I found myself a slave, bound in chains 
of gold, the noble ambitions of my life in the 
dust, my people betrayed, my honor gone. Like 
Judas I betrayed my benefactor into the hands 
of his arch-enemy, the ambitious and conspir- 
ing William R. Hearst of New York, and by 
this act of base treachery, I, ‘like the avaricious 
Judean, threw a pearl away, richer than all 
my tribe. ^ I have wronged Senator Bradley, the 
one who has given so much of his beneficent life 
to the State he serves, and for me to live longer 
in it, would be to profane that which he has 
made glorious by an unstained and undefiled 
manhood, therefore I cast my mortal barque 
upon the dark waters of the Styx, and may 
God have mercy upon it. Forgive and forget 
me is my last request. George St. Clair. ^ 
“The alarm was at once given, and in a short 
while the banks were lined with hundreds of 
people, while a thorough and disciplined search 
was made for the body, but on account of the 


212 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


big rise in the river which reached here at a 
late hour last night, the search was given up, 
and it is uncertain as to when the body will be 
found, if found at all. In addition to the above 
letter found in the boat, a hand satchel and 
overcoat were found upon the bank, at which 
place it is supposed he entered the boat. Within 
the satchel were several personal belongings and 
a sealed letter addressed to Miss Lucile Graham, 
Austin, Texas; on the left hand corner of which 
was written the word personal. The contents 
of this letter are unknown at this hour, but it 
may be that Miss Graham, after reading the 
letter, will be able to give to the public additional 
light upon last night’s tragedy.” 

The whole page of the paper was given to a 
detailed account of the affair, but Lucile could 
read no further, every word struck her heart 
with horror, lacerating it to the degree of un- 
bearable pain, so she laid the paper down and 
threw herself into the chair by Kate ’s side. 

‘‘My darling,” said Kate softly as she placed 
her hand upon Lucile ’s fevered brow, “it seems 
to me an awful injustice that one as worthy of 
perfect happiness as you are, should be made 
to feel the pangs of such bitter sorrow.” 

“My dear child,” replied Lucile sadly, while 
these trials are hard to bear, we should not 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


213 


criticise nor complain, but carry our burdens 
to the Father in Heaven. We mortals of finite 
imderstanding should not question that of the in- 
finite. I have passed so often through the dark 
garden of Gesthsemane, as to have by this time 
a well-beaten path to guide me, as well as the 
stars of divine promise to lighten the darkest 
places, and they give me courage to say, ‘My 
Father Who art in Heaven, Thy Will be done,’ 

“Even tho’ from childhood’s hour 
I’ve seen my fondest hopes decay; 

I never loved a tree or flower, 

But ’twas the flrst to fade away!’’ 

“Lucile, you have said nothing about the let- 
ter spoken of in the paper, which was left by 
George, addressed to you. Shall I give it to 
you?” asked Kate hesitatingly. 

“Yes, Kate, bring it to me, my fear of its 
contents caused me not to mention it before, 
but I now will try and nerve myself for the 
painful ordeal of reading his last words, in hope 
of finding something which may obliterate the 
awful darkness of his crime,” replied Lucile, as 
she opened the letter. 

With a single glance she read the few words 
he had written upon the white sheet of paper, 
then folding it as carefully as tho’ it were a 


214 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


shroud, she placed it back again in the envelope, 
and for a moment a silence like that of death 
was in the room, then with a cry of anguish 
she exclaimed, * ‘ My God ! My God ! Why hast 
thou forsaken me? Why hast thou pressed this 
cup of sorrow to my lips?’’ Then springing to 
her feet, her hands grasped supplicatingly and 
with her eyes turned toward Heaven, she cried 
out, ‘ ‘ O Heavenly Father ! WTiy did you with- 
draw your protecting angels from around the 
leader of your people when the army of Satan 
had surrounded him? WTiy has he gone unhon- 
ored, unwept and unsung to a watery grave? 
WTiy has he died the cruel death of a traitor, 
instead of the glorious death of a martyr? Oh 
death, in this cruel tragedy, I find thy sting; 
In the destruction of a soul like his. Oh grave 
I find thy victory.” 

At this point Judge Graham entered the li- 
brary and stood before the grate. 

‘‘Father, what is the very latest news? have 
they found the body?” asked Lucile nervous- 
ly. 

“My secretary has just returned from the 
lake and reports the body unfound. On account 
of the big rise which came down the river last 
night, search with drag-lines is impossible, but 
a close search is being made for several miles 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


215 


down the river in hopes of finding it/’ replied 
Judge Graham coldly. 

^‘The cruel, cruel water,” cried Lucile as she 
sank back into her chair. 

^Hlave you seen the letter St. Clair left to 
you?” asked the Judge as he cast his eyes to- 
ward the floor. 

‘^Yes, Kate gave it to me, and I have just 
read it,” answered Lucile with a sigh. 

“May I ask what the contents are?” 

“Listen, and I will read it all to you, just a 
few words, but Oh, how they strike my heart 
like a heavy buldgeon.” 

‘ ‘ Dear Lucile : — As I pen these lines, my boat 
is drifting, drifting to the place where my mor- 
tal life shall be crushed by the jaws of death. 
I have trasgressed the laws of God and man, 
and as the wages of this transgression is death, 
I go out into it like a little child lost in the 
darkness. My request is that my body, when 
recovered from the water, be buried on the 
mountain across the river, and that its grave be 
unmarked and moundless. Forgive me of my 
wrong to you, and forget that such as I ever 
lived. 

Farewell forever, forever goodbye, 

George.” 


216 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


As Lucile finished the last words of the let- 
ter, her voice was broken with sobs, and tears 
filled her eyes. “My child, said Judge Gra- 
ham unmoved by her sorrow, “Be brave, be not 
so childish, think only of what you have escaped 
by his death, the cruel snares of the fowler ; the 
burning fetters of matrimonial bondage.’^ 
“Father! Father!’’ cried Lucile, “you must 
not say that. I am a woman, a true and ten- 
der-hearted woman, and as such, I weep over 
the ruins of that which I loved, as the ‘ Shepherd 
King of Israel’ wept over the ruined life and 
tragic death of his own Absalom.” 

“But does Holy Writ record where tears were 
shed over the dangling carcass of him who be- 
trayed the Son of God?” 

“You shall not! You must not, profane his 
wrecked life, the sacred ruins of God’s temple, 
with such sacrilegious words,” cried Lucile as 
she sprang to her feet, and faced her cold- 
hearted father. 

“I have not profaned it,” replied Judge Gra- 
ham angrily. “This he has done himself by his 
base acts and cowardly treachery, and I repeat 
his own words, ^The wages of sin is death!* ” 
“Father, why have you come here? Is it be- 
cause you wish to prick my heart? Do you find 
amusement in my tears?” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


217 


^‘Such is not my fiendish desire!’’ exclaimed 
Judge Graham as he rose impetuously to his 
feet; ‘‘but to remind you of the fact that you 
are a Graham, and that a Graham never stoops 
so low as to mourn the destruction of the riff- 
raff, or any part of it. The blood that courses 
your veins is the blood of a proud and aristo- 
cratic ancestry, and it is your duty to guard 
it as tho’ it were a stream of molten gold, and 
and its corpuscles as priceless as the pearls of 
Omen.” 

“Yes, it is my duty to guard it,” replied 
Lucile ironically. “And I shall guard it, but 
I will steep it in the meekness of love, and in 
the humility of Spirit I will purge it of its 
haughtiness. ’ ’ 

“You are indeed an ungrateful child, a most 
degenerate princess of the House of Graham,” 
replied the Judge harshly. 

“Father, for your honor, and for the honor 
of the House of Graham, I have spoken. 
My gratitude is boimdless, inasmuch as 
it embraces the source of our honor, which is 
no other than the ranks of the laboring peo- 
ple; to them am I grateful, and henceforth for 
ever more the House of Graham shall be their 
refuge and strength; across its portals shall be 
written ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and 


218 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, ’ while 
truth within shall manifest itself in ^The com- 
mon fatherhood of God and the universal broth- 
erhood of man.^ 

‘^The House of Graham an asylum of the riff- 
raff! The House of Graham an armory of the 
rabble I No, never I The footprints of my fath- 
ers shall never be obliterated by the vulgar 
tracks of the Plebeians, nor shall the lustre of 
our glorious escutcheon be dimmed by the greasy 
finger-marks of the unclean, cried Judge Gra- 
ham as he pressed his trembling hands to his 
head in the agony of his anger. 

have spoken!’’ exclaimed Lucile passion- 
ately as she drew the old family sword from its 
scabbard on the wall, which had flashed in de- 
fense of the Colonies at Bunker’s Hill, and in 
defense of the Southland at Gettysburg. With 
the sword of the Grahams drawn she continued, 
have spoken from the throne of the House 
of Graham; behold my sceptre, for it shall be 
mighty unto the end.” 

“You have desecrated by your words the 
ashes of those who lived here, but as long as 
there is life in my body, you shall not by any 
act of yours destroy the traditional pillars of 
this house, or the sacred precedents established 
by the fathers who preceded us here,” replied 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


219 


Judge Graham angely as he took the sword from 
Lucile, and returned it to its scabbard on the 
wall. 

am bound to no precedent save that which 
has followed the path of truth and the cross 
of Calvary toward the goal of love. In the 
unity of these three, truth, sacrifice, love, we 
perceive the grand trinity of society, the golden 
link which binds man to man in one common 
brotherhood. ‘He that saith he is in the light, 
but hateth his brother, is in darkness even un- 
til now. He that loveth his brother abideth in 
the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling 
in him. But he that hateth his brother is in 
darkness and walketh in darkness, and knows 
not whither he goes, because that darkness has 
blinded his eyes.’ Then again it is written, 
‘If a man say, ‘I love God,’ and hateth his 
brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not 
his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love 
God, whom he hath not seen?’ ” said Lucile 
softly. 

As Lucile was talking Judge Graham resumed 
his chair and buried his silvery head in his 
hands, a characteristic attitude when in deep 
thought. Kate came over to where Lucile was 
standing, and affectionately drew her into her 
arms as she kissed the pale brow, over which 


220 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


seemed to hang so many clouds of dark sor- 
row; then in a sympathetic tone she said, 
^‘Wasn^t it rather a singular request of George’s 
to be buried in that lonely mountain, and that 
his grave be unmarked and moundless?” 

‘‘Yes, dear,” replied Lucile with a sigh, “but 
when he made that request, it was at a moment 
when the remorse of his conscience stung him 
most. He was a proud man, and the last peiv 
son in all the world I would have suspected of 
making such a request, but my heart is not so 
cold as to carry it out, the memories of the past 
forbid it, and command that he rest beneath 
a tended grave, therefore, his dear body when 
found shall be buried in our family lot in 
the Oakwood Cemetery.” 

“What! What do you mean?” exclaimed 
Judge Graham with flashing eyes as he lifted 
up his head and threw himself erect in his 
chair. 

“I mean that the body of George St. Clair 
shall be buried in our family lot in Oak- 
wood,” repeated Lucile in an emphatic tone. 

“My God! My God! Why do you chastise 
me thus? Why have you delivered me over 
to the lash of my own child?” Then rising to 
his feet, he faced his daughter and with great 
■emotion cried out, “Not being content with 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


221 


bringing reproach upon a proud ancestry, you 
now seek to invade the silent city of the dead 
to plant the bones of a traitor, but you shall 
not ; the dust of the base and contemptible shall 
not mingle with the ashes of the Grahams.^' 

hold in my own name the deed to that 
lot, and he shall be buried there,'’ replied Lu- 
cile calmly. 

Judge Graham's face turned pale, then fall- 
ing back into his chair, exclaimed, ** ‘How 
sharper than a serpent's tooth it is, to have a 
thankless child!' " 


**Ev*ry state, 

Allotted to the race of man below, 

Is, in proportion, doom’d to taste some sorrow.’* 


222 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER X. 


‘‘The fiery soul abhorr’d in Catiline, 

In Decius charms, in Curtius is divine: 
The same ambition can destroy or save. 

And makes a patriot, as it makes a knave.” 



WO weeks have passed and the 
body of George St. Clair has not 
been found nor heard of, and all 
hope has been given up for its 
recovery. This was the first morning of De- 
cember, and the sun rose from the depths of 
the eastern horizon like a ball of fire from a 
fathomless ocean of liquid gold. The birds in 
the early morning had sung the welcome to the 
dawn, and now with the same sweet melody 
were singing the heraldic songs of approaching 
Winter, but upon the ear of Lucile they fell 
like the anthems of a funeral dirge over the 
dead hopes of her life, causing her anguished 
heart to yearn ‘‘for the touch of a vanished 
hand and for the sound of a voice that is still P' 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


223 


Lucile had not opened the piano since the 
night of George’s death, but now as she sat be- 
fore it her soul seemed to hunger for its soft 
sweet notes to comfort her, and before she was 
conscious of the fact, her soft white fingers play- 
ed upon the keys as she sang low and sadly: 

* “The way is dark, my Father! Cloud upon cloud 
Is gathering thickly o’er my head, and loud 
The thunders roar above me. O, see — I stand 
Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand — 
And through the gloom lead safely home Thy 
Child! 

The day declines^ my Father! and the night 
Is drawing darkly down. My faithless sight 
Sees ghostly visions. Fears like a spectral band 
Encompass me. O, Father, take my hand, 

And from the night lead up to light Thy Child! 
The cross is heavy. Father! I have borne 
It long, and still do bear it. I can not stand 
Or go alone. O, Father, take my hand. 

And reaching down, lead to the crown Thy 
Child!’ ’’ 


As Lucile finished the song, she heard foot- 
steps behind her, and looking around saw her 
father, who had by this time reached her side. 
‘‘Oh father, where have you been all the morn- 
ing!” exclaimed Lucile affectionately as she 
withdrew her fingers from the ivory keys, and 
threw her arm around her father, “I have look- 


224 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ed the house over for you, but could not find 
you. Where have you heenV^ 

“My child, urgent business called me to my 
office down town this morning earlier than usual, 
and I have just now returned,’’ answered Judge 
Graham. 

‘ 'Father, why do you take such an active part 
in worldly matters? You have accumulated a 
large fortune ; you are now old and should retire 
from public life, spending the few years which 
remain of your own life as a blessing to those 
around you who need so badly your aid and 
comfort. By doing this, you add not only to 
their happiness, but to your own, for ‘it is more 
blessed to give than to receive,’ ” pleaded Lu- 
cile earnestly. 

“Then you would have me tear the ermine 
of the Judiciary from my shoulders, and substi- 
tute for it the sackcloth, that I might become 
a meek and lowly philanthropist, a fellow of 
the rabble, and an associate of the base? No, 
my child, I shall not fling myself from a high 
pinnacle of honor, down to the level of the 
illiterate and uncultured — .” 

“But, father,” interrupted Lucile, “did not 
the Prince of the Court of Heaven leave the 
throne of His Father and come down to this 
world, ‘not to be ministered unto, but to min- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


225 


ister, and to give his life a ransom for many?^ 
Are you better than the Son of God? Is your 
official robe of a richer purple than was His ? ’ * 

“I believe in intellectual spheres and social 
castes; I believe in the congeniality of environ-^ 
ment; and as it is easier to fall to the level 
than to be raised to the height, I insist upon 
a plainly drawn line of demarcation between 
^he/ several and distinct classes of society, 
answered the Judge coldly. 

“Father, your standard of classification is 
man ’s financial capacity ; my standard of classi- 
fication is the heart, and if the heart is pure 
and undefiled, its possessor is royal, and even 
though that one be ragged and penniless, his , 
inheritance is a mansion * in that city whose 
builder and maker is God, ’ and his life is eter- 
nal. This is God’s standard of classification, 
therefore, it must be the only correct one, for 
it is written, * The Lord seeth not as man seeth ; 
for man looketh on the outward appearance, but 
the Lord looketh on the heart. ’ Then again in 
God’s Holy Word we find this little gem of truth 
flashing its light upon the heart: ‘Better is a 
little with righteousness, than great revenues 
without right.’ ” 

“My little girl is quite a theologian,’’ laughed 
Judge Graham as he placed his hands tenderly 


226 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


upon Lucile’s shoulder, but the smile was only- 
momentary ; the last words of his daughter had 
stung him deeply, and as he replied, a serious- 
ness overshadowed his face. “Can it be that 
my daughter believes her father an incarnation 
of ill-gotten dividends, who outwardly is an 
honored Judge upon the Bench, but inwardly a 
political pirate whose paramount purpose is the 
spoils of office?’^ 

“Father, you misunderstood me,^’ cried Lu- 
oile, “I did not mean that, for my faith and 
the pride of my life are anchored in your honor 
iand integrity, but it wounds me deeply to see 
j^ou so cold-hearted and indifferent to the poor 
around us, for I believe it is a sin to hold with 
unrelenting grasp the fortune with which God 
has blest us, when it should, by distribution, 
exercise its true function of inspiring blessed- 
ness. ^ ’ 

“Lucile, you are playing with the embers of 
.Socialism, and in your madness you are fanning 
them into a flame which sooner or later will 
'inevitably envelop our nation in civil strife. 
jFrom the cradle of your infancy where you lay 
ias a tiny bud, the hope and pride of your father, 
through all the developing years of your life, 
to its consummation, the beautiful flower of 
womanhood, I have tried to instill within you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


227 


the creed of your fathers, but now how sad it 
is for me to see the blight of this flower, caused 
by a hidden germ nestled at its heart; the 
cancerous germ of socialistic infatuation,^’ re- 
plied her father soberly as he walked back and 
forth across the floor. 

“You are wrong; I am not a Socialist, 
my creed is a God-given creed, a creed that fires 
the heart with justice, and nerves the arm to 
strike against the wrong, inspiring the masses 
to arms against the unscrupulous foe. Monopoly, 
the illegitimate offspring of those two danger- 
ous and despotic cohabitants. Oligarchy and Plu- 
tocracy. ’ ’ 

Judge Graham was anxious to change the 
subject at this point, so taking out his watch 
he glanced at the time and exclaimed, “Al- 
most 1 o’clock! Senator Bradley arrived this 
morning, and he has a conference with me here 
at two this afternoon, so let’s take lunch as soon 
as possible.” 

“Father, may I ask the nature of this con- 
ference?” asked Lucile seriously. 

“We wish merely to discuss the present po- 
litical situation, and also lay our plans for the 
next campaign,” replied her father. 

“Then you are thinking of entering the race 
for Governor?” 


228 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


“Yes, my dear,” when I withdrew from the 
race during the last campaign, it was with the 
understanding that Senator Bradley would 
throw his influence to me four years hence, giv- 
ing the Governor just elected two terms in of- 
fice,^'* 

‘‘Oh, Father cried Lucile as she threw her 
arms around his neck, “won^t that be grand! 
With Senator Bradley’s undivided influence you 
will win the race, and just think how much 
good you can do as Governor of our state.” 

“Lucile, have you not thought of what this 
victory means to the House of Graham? His- 
tory will immortalize its name and — 

“But when you are Governor you can then 
pardon so many of the poor unfortunate pris- 
oners, can’t you, father?” interrupted Lucile 
as a happy smile lit her countenance with a 
light which seemed divine. 

“To be merciful to the transgressor of our 
laws, often means to be cruel to the just and 
obedient,” replied her father coldly. 

Well, if the House of Graham gives to Texas 
a Governor, we will see how merciful we can 
be,” replied Lucile in a resolute tone. 

“By the way, Lucile, what shall I say to 
Senator Bradley in regard to the course you 
intend to pursue in this fight made against him 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


229 

by the Hearst faction?” asked Judge Graham 
nervously. 

‘‘Father, express to Senator Bradley my sym- 
pathy, and tell him that I will exert every ef- 
fort to redeem an honored and unstained name 
from the miry slime of shame. Come, father, it 
is now time for lunch,” said Lucile as she took 
her father's arm and left the parlor. 

After lunch Judge Graham went to the 
library to await the coming of Senator Bradley; 
Kate returned to her room to write several let- 
ters; while Lucile, wishing to be alone in her 
thoughts and meditations, took several of 
George's old letters with her, and slipped away 
quietly to the small, vine-covered arbor, the 
bower of a blissful past where she and George 
spent so many afternoons together, and 
now where amaranthine flowers of memory 
bloomed, exhaling their sweet balms upon the 
gloom of the present. Lucile read, and then 
reread the letters she brought with her, then 
meditatively reviewed George's tender and af- 
fectionate diction when he referred to her as 
his soul's guardian; as the divine inspiration 
of every noble act, and the propellent power 
of every immaculate thought. She remembered 
the many times he manifested an unselfish 


230 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


spirit; how he had sacrificed the pleasures of 
self in response to the call of duty; how his 
character seemed like a palacious structure rest- 
ing upon the concrete foundation of love and 
truth, his noble deeds, its infiuential illumina- 
tion. 

Then she thought of the last days of his life, 
how in his madness and thirst for gold he had 
destroyed that beautiful structure, crumbled its 
foundation, and dimmed the lustre of its illumi- 
nation. “Oh, how strong are the counter in- 
fluences of Satan, that they should slip a soul 
from its heavenly sphere and poison its source 
of civic virtue,’’ muttered Lucile in a museful 
mood. 

At this juncture of thought, Lucile ’s atten- 
tion was arrested by the sound of voices, and 
looking up, she saw through the vines her father 
and Senator Bradley; they were approaching 
the bench which stood upon the lawn just a 
few feet from the side of the arbor in which 
she was sitting. 

“What shall I do,” whispered Lucile to her- 
self, “I came here to be alone, and now can 
not leave without being seen. I can not bear 
to meet Senator Bradley face to face, after all 
that has happened. I shall stay here until they 
leave, then return to my room.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


231 


By this time her father and the Senator were 
seated upon the bench. “To remain here/^ 
thought Lucile seriously, I will be an eavesr 
dropper; I will be guilty of a very dishon- 
orable act, but how shall I escape unnoticed?’^ 
Just then something seemed to say to her, 

‘ ‘ Stay where you are, your father has no secrets 
you should not hear; you are his child and 
should acquaint yourself with all his plans, that 
you may be able to extend to him a helping 
hand in his future campaign for the governor- 
ship. Your father’s friend. Senator Bradley, is 
being vilified by designing enemies; the cords 
of conspiracy are tightening around him ; there- 
fore, stay where you are and like a guardian 
angel, invisible but powerful, throw around him 
every safeguard, while you loose the cords that 
bind him, and destroy those who seek his ruin.” 

“Yes, I will stay,” replied Lucile in an un- 
dertone. “I shall not desert my post of duty,, 
for it is now a station of love and honor.” 

“Well, Graham, tell me all about the scheme !” 
exclaimed Senator Bradley as he arranged him- 
self comfortably upon the bench. 

“It worked like a charm, and was executed 
without a single hitch ; every body believes that 
he committed suicide,” replied Judge Graham, 
as he glanced around to see if they were alone. 


232 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Lucile raised up quickly, actuated by a startling 
thought, then leaned forward again to catch 
every word. 

“How did the news of his death affect Lu- 
cile asked the Senator with an anxious look 
upon his face. 

“Bradley, that was the part that cut me like 
a knife; the witnessing of my own child’s sor- 
row. When she heard that he was dead, her 
poor heart seemed broken, and she grieved over 
his death as though she had received her own 
xieath-warrant. ’ ’ 

“My dear Graham, that was a hard trial for 
.you, and I am sorry that we had to sacrifice her 
happiness in order to accomplish our purpose, 
hut within a short time the wounds of her heart 
will heal, and the scars will become invisible. ’ ’ 

“My God! My God!” exclaimed Lucile to 
herself. “W'hat do they mean? Is it possible 
that there has been foul play? No! No! My 
dear father would do no wrong.” 

You left a smooth man to execute that plot, 
when you placed its execution in the hands of 
Pat Crow,” remarked Judge Graham as they 
both lighted their cigars. 

“Yes, Crow was the man for the work; he 
loves tragedy, or the semblance of it, as a beast 
of prey loves warm blood. Begin at the first, 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


233 


and tell me all you know, for I have not seen 
Crow since the capture, but from what I saw 
in the papers relative to St. Claires death, I felt 
certain that the plot had been successfully car- 
ried out.*^ 

*‘Well, Crow left the cave during the night, 
and reached the city about daylight; he then 
came out to see me, and presented his plans, 
which were as follows; he was to carry at night 
from the cave to the river St. Claires hand- 
bag and a few other of his belongings, which 
were to be left upon the bank at a point where 
he was supposedly to enter the boat; in the 
handbag was to be placed a letter addressed to 
Lucile, the contents of which you have already 
read in the papers. Then the boat which was 
to be secured for the purpose, was to be set 
adrift from this point, carrying within it a let- 
ter addressed to the laboring forces. This be- 
ing accomplished there was nothing more to be 
done but to wait results. I concurred with him 
in his plans, so we set the night for their execu- 
tion. Crow had already prepared a long letter 
imitative of St. Clair's handwriting, which was 
addressed to Lucile, the object of which was to 
destroy her confidence in him by what was to 
appear as his own confession of unpardonable 
wrongs committed by him against you. Then 


234 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


again, this letter was also intended to prepare 
her for the presumed tragedy of self-destruc- 
tion which was to follow. I handed this letter 
to Lucile, and it bore the fruit we desired, for 
she drove from her heart the affection she had 
for him, and bitterly reproached his acts as 
despicable and traitorous perpetrations, but the 
news of his death rekindled within her breast 
the flames of old affections, which consumed in 
her heart all that was evil of him, and in its 
place enshrined his virtues with immortal 
spirit.” 

“Then, we must use our influence with her 
in such a way as to destroy her affections for 
that wretch!” exclaimed Bradley irritably. “We 
have now reached the crisis of our lives, and 
much depends upon our action. We captured 
St. Clair in order to secure the Hewett papers, 
but his capture availed us nothing, as we did 
not find them. I have reasons to believe they 
were in St. Clair’s possession the night he was 
kidnapped by Crow and young Priest, but the 
disposition of them is a mystery which may 
never be unraveled.” 

“He probably turned them over to the At- 
torney General immediately upon his arrival in 
the city,” remarked Judge Graham. 

“Impossible!” exclaimed Senator Bradley em- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


235 


phatically, '‘Crow followed him from St. Louis 
to this city and watched every movement he 
made.’’ 

“We should fear no harm from them, even 
though they were found, for the letters we wrote 
in the handwriting of St. Clair, and which the 
public have accepted as his own confession, will 
prove the falsity of the Hewett papers.” 

“Yes, we have counteracted their poisonous 
effects, but there are two things that must be 
done immediately: St. Clair must be disposed 
of, and the lips of Hewett sealed with a hand- 
some bribe,” replied Senator Bradley. 

“In what way do you intend to dispose of 
St. Clair?” asked Judge Graham in an excited 
tone. 

“John Priest is in the city, and had a con- 
ference with me this morning, during which we 
discussed the matter freely; and at his own re- 
quest I have placed him and Crow in charge 
of St. Clair, to do with him as they may see 
fit,” answered the Senator elusively. 

“What plans are they going to pursue?” ask- 
ed the Judge eagerly. 

“Of course I have washed my hands of the 
whole affair, and anything they do, will be done 
upon their own responsibility.” 

“Senator!” exclaimed the Judge harshly,. 


236 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘you know what they intend to do with that 
boy, therefore I ask you again, what are their 
plans ? * ^ 

“I do not exactly approve of them,^^ replied 
the Senator as he arose uneasily from the bench. 
“But in their execution we will realize our only 
avenue of escape; the only concealment of our 
crimes. “ 

‘ ‘ Senator, there is something you wish to keep 
from me in regard to the plans of Priest and 
Crow. I do not purpose to be kept in the dark 
as to any phase of the plot, and for the third 
time I ask, what are their plans 

“Then, you shall know,’^ replied Bradley as 
a paleness overspread his face. “Tonight, while 
St. Clair is asleep, they are to place over his 
nostrils a cloth saturated with chloroform, and 
when he is dead they will bury him in the cave, 
after which its narrow entrance will be sealed 
up.’’ 

“My God, Bradley!” cried Judge Graham as 
he rose to his feet with a tremor. “Is it true 
that in order to hide our crimes and dishonor, 
our hands must be soiled with human blood?” 

“Our hands will not be stained with blood; 
we commit no murder, neither have we sanction- 
ed it, ’ ’ pleaded Senator Bradley. 

“But we know that the murder is to be com- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


237 


mitted tonight, and unless we raise our hands 
against it, we are as guilty as though we admin- 
istered the noxious ether with our own hands, 
replied Judge Graham as he lowered his head 
upon his breast. 

“ If we lift our hands against the execution of 
this plot, we raise them for the shackles of the 
law.’’ 

‘‘Unless we do, we may find them bound by 
the hangman’s cords,” protested the Judge. 

“Ah, Judge, ‘cowards die many times before 
their death,’ let us be brave, and in silence 
await the results of the accomplishment of the 
plot; unless we do this, we are forever fallen, 
and tomorrow will be nothing but the ruins of 
yesterday’s temple, over which in years to come 
will hover, like an evil spirit, the curses of pos- 
terity.” 

“In our rashness to save ourselves, we have 
drawn around us a net, the meshes of which 
can not be broken, and which places us at the 
mercy of our enemies; therefore, I suppose there 
is nothing left for us to do but submit to the 
inevitable, and trust to luck,” replied Judge 
Graham as he gazed sadly into the face of Sen- 
ator Bradley. 

“There is but one thing that will break the 
meshes of this net and set ujs free; that is the 


238 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


death of St. Clair,” said the Senator as he lift- 
ed his foot upon the bench. 

^‘What about Hewett?” 

^^Our counterfeit letters, the fictitious confes- 
sion of St. Clair, will render ineffective any- 
thing Hewett may do or say.” 

“You are right, Bradley, we must push this 
to the end; one moment of hesitancy is like 
halting on the quicksand. The iron is hot, the 
anvil is ready ; let us strike. What time tonight 
will they administer the drug ? ’ ’ 

“Three a. m. tomorrow morning,” replied the 
Senator, “but at that hour I shall be far away 
from here, as I will then be home. By the way, 
Graham, our friend Henry Priest asked to hand 
you this small package as a little gift of re- 
membrance from him, this being, I believe, the 
fifty-ninth anniversary of your birth.” 

As Judge Graham was expressing his appre- 
ciation of the gift, he opened the sealed pack- 
age, and his eyes rested with avaricious delight 
upon a bundle of crisp paper currency; five 
thousand dollars in fifty one-hundred-dollar de- 
nominations. “Senator, you will please convey 
to Priest my thanks for this valuable remem- 
brance; tell him to have no fears as to the case 
now on file in the Supreme Court, for his in- 
terests shall be as my interests, and that I shall 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


239 


use my influence to have the case reversed.^’ 
“Priest requested me to say to you that he 
appreciates deeply the many services you have 
rendered him in the past, and that all favors 
shown him in the future shall not go unnoticed 
or unrewarded by him. I must now be gone, or 
I will miss my train ; keep me posted as to every 
move made by my enemies, and remember, 
‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, 
taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, 
all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows 
and in miseries.’ On such a full sea are we 
now afloat; and we must take the current when 
it serves, or lose our ventures. Good bye, my 
true and everlasting friend, good bye!” 

A grasp of the hand, and they separated, each 
going to his respective field of prey; one to the 
Federal Halls of Legislation; the other, to the 
State’s Judiciary. 


“Tyrants seldom die 
Of a dry death; it waiteth at their gate, 
Brest in the colour of their robes of state.” 


240 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


CHAPTER XI. 


“Still monarchs dream 
Of universal empire growing up 
Prom universal ruin. Blast the design, 

Great God of Hosts! nor let thy creatures fall 
Uhpitled victims at ambition’s shrint!” 



UCILE heard all that passed 
between her father and Sen- 
ator Bradley, and for an hour 
she sat among the vines of the ar- 
bor, frantic with the joy that came to her when 
she heard that St. Clair was alive. ‘‘Oh how 
I have wronged him! How cruel were my lips 
to falsely accuse the man I loved; the purest 
of men: the slandered but undefiled leader of 
men.’’ When she thought of the criminal 
tactics of her father ; his cruelty and 
cold-heartedness, she battled against the 
tears which flowed unbidden from the 
source of a deep and agonizing sorrow. 
The revelation of her father’s weakness 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


241 


and base avarice, coupled with the un- 
scrupulous and murderous stratagem of Sena- 
tor Bradley, crushed her heart like a terrific 
thunderbolt, riving its tendrils of affection which 
had for years boimd her close to her father 
in the bonds of childish devotion and unbound- 
ed confidence. Since the trusting hour of in- 
nocent childhood, she loved the great States- 
man of Texas, and for whose honor she but 
a few days before had sacrificed the idol of 
her virgin love; the mate of her own heart. 

*‘My Father! My Father!’’ cried Lucile, 
‘*why have you darkened the life of your own 
little girl with the shadows of treason? Why 
have you broken her heart with your deeds of 
shame ? Why now do you add crime to crimes, 
by staining your hands with blood of the inno- 
cent Tvhich in the day of Judgment will cry out 
against you? No! No! You shall not, you 
shall not destroy one so noble and brave; one 
so guiltless and pure. I am just a woman, but 
a true woman’s love inspires the loftiest cour- 
age, and with this intrepidity I will steal away 
tonight and beard those demons in their den, 
that I may liberate the one I have so cruelly 
wronged.” But a sudden fear seemed to take 
hold of her. ‘‘How can I find the cave in the 
night time? How can I go alone and accom-. 


242 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


plish this grave undertaking? for a life, a great 
life depends upon my action, which must be 
speedy and successful. No time must be lost, 
as the sun is now being hid by the tree tops. ^ ^ 
After a few moments of deep thought, a bright 
hope flashed before her and seemed to blaze out 
a path of victory. “I will swear uncle Ned 
Ao secrecy, and have him accompany me to- 
might ; he knows this country like a fox, and with 
him as a guide we will find that accursed cave. * * 
Looking cautiously out of the arber, she saw 
uncle Ned on the further side of the driveway, 
and in a few moments she attracted his atten- 
tion and beckoned him to come to her. ^‘Come 
inside of the arbor. Uncle Ned ; I have something 
to tell you, ^ ’ said Lucile as the old family darkey 
came up with his folded hat beneath his arm. 

^‘Is you guine to tell dis ole nigger a secret 
Honey ?’^ asked Uncle Ned as he entered the 
arbor and stood before Lucile. 

^‘Yes, uncle Ned, a great big secret, the like of 
which I Ve never told you before ; but you must 
promise to tell no one. Will you promise ?^^ 
‘^Yes, Honey, I sho do promise,’^ grinned 
Uncle Ned as he showed the rows of his big white 
Tteeth, and turned the whites of his eyes into 
prominence. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


243 


“ Do you know how to go to the old Gibbons 
Ranch ? ’ ’ 

“Lawd, Honey, I sho do!^’ exclaimed Uncle 
Ned, as his eyees sparkled with fond recollec- 
tions of the past. ‘‘Many a night befo de war, 
me and my old. dog hunted coons and possums 
all round dat dar big mountain, and dat game 
sho was good eaten; dem coons, possums and 
taters. I wished a many a time I could live 
dem ole days over again with ole Marse and 
Missus. ^ ’ 

“Well, uncle Ned, I want you to go with me 
tonight to that same old mountain,’^ said Lu- 
cile softly. 

“Whars your dog, Honey? laughed Uncle 
Ned at the unique idea of a coon-hunt with 
Lucile. 

“Oh, we are not going hunting!’^ exclaimed 
Lucile. “Listen, and I will tell you all. You 
remember Mr. St. Clair who used to here here 
to see me, do you not?^’ 

“Yes, Honey, I sho do. Is he gwine, too?^’ 

‘ ‘ No, Uncle Ned, two mean men have captured 
him because he knew something they were afraid 
he would tell, and they have taken him to a cave 
in that mountain, and at three o’clock in the 
morning they are going to poison him to death. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Sho nuf ! ’ ’ exclaimed the old negro as his hat 


244 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


dropped from beneath his arm, and as the white 
in his eyes grew larger. 

‘‘Yes, and we must find that cave before mid- 
night; surprise the two villains and bind them 
hand and foot, then liberate Mr. St. Clair. ’ * 

“Lawd God-der-mighty, sweet chile, dats a 
purty ticklish bizziness.^’ 

“Then, you are afraid to go with me to save 
the life of the man I love!” exclaimed Lucile 
as tears trickled down her cheeks. 

“No, Honey, you knows I’se not afeard of 
dem fellers. Didn’t dis ole nigger put a bunch 
of dem danmed blue coats to her heels when 
dey tried to burn old massa ’s house ? Oh Lawd, 
Honey, how de dust sho did fly. No, chile, 
I’se not afeard; I’d be dispectful to my raisin 
to be afeard of dem two devils. What do you 
take dis ole nigger fur?” 

“Then you will go with me?” asked Lucile 
hopefully. 

“Yes, Missy, I’d fight de devil and blow up 
dat hell uv his’n for you!” exclaimed Uncle Ned 
excitedly as he brought his fist down upon the 
bench inside of the arbor. 

‘ ‘ Good ! ’ ’ exclaimed Lucile joyfully, as she took 
the old wrinkled black hand between her own 
sofe white palms. “You are a dear old fellow, 
and I shall never forget you. Slip Pat and 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


245 


Prince from the stable at eight o’clock tonight; 
put my saddle on Prince and your’s on Pat, and 
I will meet you in the alley at that time. Don’t 
forget to bring with you the pistol father gave 
you, and remember my instructions: above all, 
do not breathe what I have told you to a soul.” 

‘‘De bosses will be right dar. Missy, and dis 
yar nigger will be right dar with em,” replied 
Uncle Ned proudly. ‘‘But, chile, der aint no 
cave in dat dar mountain,” continued the old 
darkey as he scratched his white woolly head 
meditatively. 

“Yes, Uncle Ned, there must be a rather large 
cave somewhere in that mountain, which has a 
very narrow passage, and I believe we can 
easily find it by going around the base of the 
mountain and looking closely for a light.” 

“How does yo know dem rascals and dat dar 
cave is dar?” asked Uncle Ned as he scratched 
his head again. 

“I found this out today, but can not tell you 
now how I heard it, as it is a secret I must 
keep all to myself. I must now be going; will 
see you in the alley at eight o’clock tonight,” 
whispered Lucile as she slipped from the arbor, 
and returned to the house, entering it from the 
back. 

As she started up the staircase she came face 


246 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


to face with her father, who was coming down 
from his room to the library. 

‘‘Well, my daughter!” exclaimed Judge Gra- 
ham with a cold smile, “I delivered your mes- 
sage to Senator Bradley, and he is proud to 
know that he has such a fair one to champion 
his cause; in fact, this is the message he sent 
you.” 

“Thank you, father,” replied Lucile as tho 
nothing had happened. “I believe I asked you 
to tell the Senator in my behalf that I would 
exert every effort to redeem an honored and un- 
stained name from the miry slime of shame?” 

“Yes, my child, and it was with feelings of 
deep pride that I acquainted him with that 
fact.” 

“Then I repeat, as before; I shall exert every 
effort to redeem an honored and unstained name 
from the pits of shame,” answered Lucile as 
she ran quickly up the stairs and entered her 
room. 

Wishing to meditate over her plans for the 
night, and to devise some method of escaping 
unnoticed from the house, she flung herself upon 
the bed, but as she did so, a rap at the door at- 
tracted her attention, and in response to her 
call, Kate came in and, seeing Lucile, exclaim- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


247 


ed, '‘My dear, where have you been? I have 
hunted the house over for you.” 

“Darling, while you were writing your let- 
ters, I took a stroll among the trees and vines 
for the purpose of living for awhile in the 
memories of the past, and there at the oasis of 
sweet thought I remained longer than I intend- 
ed,” answered Lucile with a sweet, yet sad 
smile. 

“My friend, Mrs. Sands, has just phoned and 
wishes me to spend the evening and night with 
her, and requested that you accompany me; 
she has sent her carriage for us.” 

“My dear Kate, I have a severe headache, and 
for this reason must decline the pleasure of your 
company to Mrs. Sands.” 

“Yes, dearie, but we shall miss you,” replied 
Kate as she stooped down and kissed the lips 
of her girl-companion. 

“Thank you, Kate, but my presence would 
only cast a gloom over the entire evening, for 
during the last two weeks I have lived only in 
the sombre shadows of life,” replied Lucile 
sadly. 

“You must not sorrow for the inevitabilities 
of the past!” exclaimed Kate in a comforting 
tone. 

“I no longer grieve because of the sorrows 


248 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


of the past; some of her clouds are turning to- 
ward me their bright silver lining, while others 
have lost their golden glow, and are now be- 
coming heavier and blacker as they drift from 
the past, across the present, to hang as a mystic 
veil in the firmament of the future.^’ 

‘^My dear, what is the new trouble that so 
disturbs your heart and adds an extra burden 
upon your lifeT^ asked Kate affectionately. 

“Oh, don't ask me that; please don't!" ex- 
claimed Lucile. “Time will reveal it all, for 
the future, like an urn, will hold the ashes of 
hopes that were fond and dear." 

“Miss Hewett! The carriage has arrived," 
announced a male-servant from the hall. 

“Cheer up, my little pet; open wide the por- 
tals of your heart, and let life's golden sun- 
light and soft zephyr drive the over-hanging 
clouds beyond the horizon of ‘blind forgetful- 
ness and dark oblivion,' " replied Kate, as she 
threw Lucile a kiss and left the room. 

For a moment Lucile 's eyes rested upon the 
door through which Kate had just passed, then 
turning them toward Heaven, she breathed a 
silent prayer to the Divine Father, invoking His 
guidance and blessing in her work of the night. 

“God's hand is already directing my curse," 
thought Lucile as she arose from the bed to 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


249 


begin her preparation 'for jthe awful ordeal 
ahead of her. ‘^When He took Kate away for 
the night, He lifted from my path the greatest 
obstacle. ^ ’ 

As she was looking through her trunk for a 
suitable disguise, she heard her father call from 
the foot of the stairs, whose call she answered 
in person. “My daughter, I have just received 
a telegram calling me to Dallas on legal busi- 
ness, and must catch the train which leaves here 
within the next hour. I may not be home the 
next two or three days, so take good care of 
yourself while I am away. Good-bye, my dar- 
ling,’^ said Judge Graham, as he fondly kissed 
her lips. 

“Good-bye, father, and may God bless you,” 
replied Lucile in a trembling voice, as she with- 
drew from his embrace and returned to her 
room. “O Father in Heaven, Thou art great 
and kind ; Thou art paving the way to my goal, 
the prison of my loved one. In Thee I put 
my trust; under Thy guardianship I place my 
aU, for my faith in Thee gives me strength and 
courage to go forward in the cause of love and 
duty, feeling that the hand that so divinely 
guards will not deliver me unto the arch-enemies 
of truth and righteousness.” 

Lucile arose from the place she was kneeling; 


250 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


a new light had penetrated the deepest depths 
of her soul and gleamed as rays of hope from 
her eyes, as she resumed her search for the mas- 
que she was to wear. After hunting through her 
trunk and in the attic, she found an old suit of 
Judge Graham ^s, a slouch hat, and an old pair 
of cavalier boots, which were worn by her grand- 
father in the Civil War. Then she went to her 
father’s room and carefully raised the lid of his 
trunk, and after a few moments search found his 
pistol, which she slipped beneath the folds of 
her dress, then left quickly for her own room. 

‘ ‘ Seven o ’clock ! ’ ’ exclaimed Lucile as she look- 
ed at her watch. “The next hour will be con- 
sumed in arranging my disguise, then we shall be 
on the road to the Gibbons ranch; to the moun- 
tain which holds as a gem the priceless treasure 
of my life.” 

At exactly five minutes to eight, Lucile 
buckled on the revolver, and pulled the slouch 
hat down over her forehead, until its flexible 
brim hid her eyes partially from view, then she 
stepped before the mirror to take the last cir- 
cumspective look at herself. “Oh, wouldn’t I 
make a typical villain ! ’ ’ exclaimed Lucile as 
she gazed upon the rough looking aspect re- 
flected in the mirror. “But this is one time I 
am glad the apparel does not proclaim the per- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


251 


Bon who wears it. While outwardly I appear a 
villain, beneath this rough disguise is the throb- 
bing heart of a woman, too timid to face a harm- 
less mouse, but brave enough to enter the em- 
brace of night, and, at the mouth of death, defy 
the scouts of Apollyon.’’ 

A moment more and Lucile was groping her 
way through the darkness down the back stair- 
way, through the kitchen, and out into the yard j 
then beneath the shade of the trees and among 
the screening shrubbery, she meandered her way 
to the stable, where everything seemed as still as 
death. 

At the door entering into the alley, Lucile 
paused and looked out; there were the saddled 
horses, and by them stood the old faithful 
darkey. 

*^Lawd hab mercy. Honey, is dat you?’^ ex- 
claimed Uncle Ned as Lucile approached. 

‘^Yes, Uncle,’’ replied Lucile in a whispe^^ 
didn’t you know me in this disguise?” 

knowed dat was you. Honey, but you sho 
don’t look like youse sweet sef wid dem dar 
fixins on, but com yer chile an let dis ole nig- 
ger hep you on dat boss, caze time we gwine 
frum dis yer place an dat mighty quick, if we 
save Marse St. Clair frum dem debils.” 

Before Lucile had time to answer, she felt 


252 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Uncle Ned^s strong arms lift her to the saddle. 

^‘Now, Honey, Ise gwine to tak de lead; keep 
dem dar eyes of yourn on dis hoss and dis nigger, 
and ride peart, fer I^se gwine to take you to 
dat dar mountain,^* added Uncle Ned as he 
mounted Pat and rode past Lucile. 

As he emerged from the alley he spurred Pat 
into a fast gallop, and with Prince close upon 
his heels, they were soon upon the cedar-brake 
road. House after house were quickly passed, 
then into the loung mountain gorge they plung- 
ed; over the rocky road which wound among 
the green cedars and brown oaks. As they pass- 
ed along the river road that curved around the 
base of Mt. Bonnell, Lucile thought of the tradi- 
tional legend of two Indian lovers, whose sep- 
arate and distinct tribes were antagonistic to 
each other, and whose chiefs were the respective 
fathers of the two lovers, who rather than be 
separated, stole away in the night from their 
camps and met beneath a large oak on the top 
of Mt. Bonnell, from which place they went to- 
gether to a projecting cliff, and there, after 
binding themselves together, leaped headlong 
into the angry waters below, that they might 
live together undisturbed in the ‘Happy Hunt- 
ing Ground. 

Lucile had never ridden so fast before on 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


253 


horseback, but her eagerness to reach the cave 
as soon as possible gave her additional strength 
for the strenuous ride which seemed to stretch 
undiminishingly before her. After an hour’s 
ride she saw Uncle Ned draw on the reins of 
Pat, and bring him to a standstill. 

‘‘Honey, is yo tired?” asked the old negro 
as Lucile rode up. 

“Not so very. Uncle Ned,” answered Lucile 
affectionately. “I haven’t had time to think of 
fatigue, as my thoughts overleaped the distance 
before us, and from the mountain of my lover’s 
captivity, tLey signal me onward. Where are 
we now?” 

“We’se on de haf way groun, chile; ten mo 
mile to dat mountain, but dese bosses mus blow 
ewhil. Honey.” 

“Uncle Ned, it is now only five minutes past 
nine; we have made half of our trip in one 
hour!” exclaimed Lucile, as she struck a match 
and looked at her watch 

“Yes, Honey, we sho has been gwine some, 
but de next ten mile we must move kinder slow, 
fur dem bosses sho am a foamin,” replied Uncle 
Ned as he dismounted to readjust the saddle 
blankets. 

‘ ‘ Have you thought out any plan for us to fol- 
low when we locate the cave?” 


254 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘No, Honey, but I spose when we finds dat 
cave, dis nigger will slip up and see what is der, 
den come back and we^se will hoi a counsil ub 
de war, den move up and shoot de livers out 
ub dem damn dogs,^^ replied uncle Ned authori- 
tatively, as he felt the importance of his leader- 
ship upon this occasion. 

“No, uncle Ned, we must not shoot unless 
forced to the last extremity; we must try to 
take them by surprise without the firing of a 
single shot, for our cause is the glorious cause of 
righteousness and not one of merciless slaughter, ’ 
answered Lucile with patriotic enthusiasm. 

“Now, look a yer, chile, dey betta not fool 
wid dis yer nigger, ur put eny ub der fingers 
on my little missy, fur if I da do, I ^se sho gwine 
to shoot and shoot hard; yes. Honey, I sho is, 
I sho is,'^ replied Uncle Ned with much spirit, 

“The horses seem sufficiently rested, so let’s 
continue our journey!” exclaimed Lucile, as she 
drew the reins and fixed herself in the saddle. 

The next hour and a half were consumed in 
traveling the remaining ten miles, at the end 
of which time they halted before the large arch 
^ate that led into Gibbons ranch. 

“Here we is. Honey, an der’s dat mountain!” 
exclaimed Uncle Ned as he dismounted to open 
the gate. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


255 


After fifteen minutes slow ride they reached 
the base of the mountain which towered stately 
and grand above them, but to Lucile it seemed 
more like the shrine of Moloch than the handi- 
work of God. 

‘^Now, Honey, youse ride keerfully aroun de 
mountain on dat side, an I'se gwine aroun dis 
tother way til I’se meets you. Now, chile, if 
you sees a light a shinin eny whar, reckelect de 
place, an when we meets we will go back to whar 
hit am.’^ 

‘‘All right. Uncle Ned; let your eyes pierce 
every crevice, for we must find the cave,’^ whis- 
pered Lucile as they separated, each going in an 
opposite direction. 

For the first few minutes Lucile felt the aw- 
ful pangs of fear as she rode alone through the 
darkness; every old stump had the appearance 
of a demon, while the largest rocks seemed as 
white-robed ghosts, whose language was like that 
of the screech-owl, but the gravity of her mis- 
sion urged her onward, as the flames of love 
within her breast inspired new courage, and con- 
sumed the fears that clutched there. She was 
now half way around, yet no light was seen as 
a beacon of hope ; no sound was heard that would 
give a clue as to the location of the cave. 

“What if we can’t find it?” asked Lucile to 


256 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


herself as her heart seemed to rise and throb 
within her throat. ^‘0 how I hunger for just 
one tiny speck of light, by which I may be 
led to the rescue of my own dear one, the light 
of my life; the star of my destiny.’’ 

Just then Lucile saw a dark object 
moving slowly and cautiously toward her 
in the shade of the underbursh. She felt 
a cold quiver rim over her body as 
she realized the dark figure to be that 
of a man, groping his way as tho’ he wished 
to escape detection. He now slipped from the 
path and stooped behind a near-by bush. Lu- 
cile reached for her pistol, cocked it, and moved 
on toward the brush behind which was concealed 
the mysterious personage. 

‘^Stop dat boss. Honey!” exclaimed Uncle 
Ned as he arose from his concealment. 

“0 Uncle Ned, is that you?” cried Lucile as 
she jumped down from her saddle and caught 
the old negro’s hand. ‘^Have you found the 
cave? Where is your horse?” asked Lucile 
with the same breath. 

“Honey, my boss is tied in dat dar thicket,” 
replied Uncle Ned as he pointed to a clump of 
brush. “Yes, sweet chile, I ’se sho foun dat cave ; 
saw a little light, den I ’se crawled off de ole boss 
an tied him to a tree, den slipped like an ole 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


257 


houn through all dat brush, right up to de 
mouf of dat cave an listened; I hurd de soun 
ub some thing, den fetched my ole pistol out 
an pulled de hammer back, den peeped in — 

“What did you seeV^ interrupted Lucile ex- 
citedly. 

“Lawd a mercy. Honey, as sho as dis ole nig- 
ger’s a livin, dere lay Marse St. Clair on de 
cot wid long chains on dem feet ub his’n, an 
not fur from dat cot sot two spectable looking 
fellers playing kards an a smokin, den I crawl- 
ed away from dat dar place to tell my little 
Missy what dis nigger saw.” 

“0 Uncle Ned, how I love you for this. You 
are a dear old fellow, and I shall never forget 
you as long as I live. Come, get your pistol 
ready, we must get there as quickly as possible ! ’ ’ 
exclaimed Lucile as she threw the reins of her 
bridle over a snag on the bush, and drew from 
beneath her coat the revolver she had with her. 


Like a mountain lone and bleak, 
With its sky-encompass’d peak, 
Thunder riven, 

Lifting its forehead bare, 

Through the cold and blighting air. 
Up to heaven. 

Is the soul that feels its woe. 

And is nerv’d to bear the blow.” 


258 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER XII. 


“Oh! is there not 

A time, a righteous time, reserv’d in fate, 
When these oppressors of mankind shall feel 
The miseries they give; and blindly fight 
JPor their own fetters too?” 



OR the last six weeks we have 
held you as our prisoner, during 
which time you have stubbornly 
withheld from us your knowledge 
as to the disposition of the Hewett papers. Your 
continued obstinacy and insubordination have 
now about terminated our armistice. You have 
yet one alternative, life or death. In revealing 
■to us the concealment of those papers whereby 
'we may secure them, you choose life and liberty, 
while your silence upon this question means 
death at once. With these terms before you for 
consideration we wait one hour for your de- 
cision,’^ said John Priest as he gazed down upon 
the cot in which St. Clair was lying. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


259 


*‘To give you my decision does not require an 
hour of meditation. I can give it to you now/’ 
answered St. Clear intrepidly. 

‘‘What is it?” 

“I would rather die a thousand deaths than 
please you with this information. I would rath- 
er be victimized at your treacherous hands than 
earn the sweets of life and liberty at the dam- 
nable price of cowardice, for you can destroy 
nothing but my body. My life lives on.” 

“To tear you limb from limb and claw out 
your heart for the buzzards would not be suf- 
ficient to satisfy my hunger for revenge, ’ ’ snarl- 
ed young Priest. 

“No, I suppose not!” exclaimed St. Clair 
calmly. “There is but a small link between the 
rapacious human-brute and the carnivorous 
vulture.” 

“John, I’m getting damned tired of guard- 
ing this skunk!” exclaimed Pat Crow as he 
placed the lighted lantern upon a small table, 
and opened a pack of cards. 

“Then it’s up to you. Crow,” replied John 
as he seated himself at the table, and began 
shuffling the cards. 

“What?” 

‘ ‘ The skinning of the skunk, ’ ’ laughed Priest. 

“Probably the Lord’s anointed would be in- 


260 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


terested in the newspaper which contains his 
his name in big head lines, ’ ’ said Crow tanting- 
ly as he tossed the paper upon St. Clair’s cot. 
At a glance St. Clair saw his name, as Crow 
had said, in big head lines, and picking up the 
paper he read eagerly the whole account of 
the suicide in the Colorado river. His blood 
boiled within him as he laid the paper down 
and looked with contempt into the faces of his 
contriving kidnappers. ‘‘A dark and craven 
stratagem, fit only for cold-blooded villians.” 

“St. Clair, to prove that we are not dealing 
underhand with you, that our plottings are 
not kept from you; that we wish you to share 
with us the pleasures of this dramatic tragedy 
of which you have just read, I am going to tell 
you what it means. The object of the scheme 
was to deceive the people of Texas into believing 
that you were dead ; that you died by your own 
hand, so as to prevent a search and inquiry 
when you were missed. Our plan worked like 
a charm. The people all believe that you were 
drowned, and that your body is lost. So now it 
will be safe for us to mortally dispose of you, 
which we will do unless you reveal to us the 
hiding place of the Hewett papers,” said Priest 
as he dealt out the cards. 

“Curs that you are! You have shackled my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


261 


legs, and I am at your mercy. You have the 
power to sever the mortal cords that bind my 
soul. But you can not with your threats, re- 
volvers, or daggers, force my tongue to articu- 
late or my lips to utter the secrets I wish to 
keep inviolate. No ! Not even the flames of 
Hell could draw them from me. 

“Well, since we have failed I suppose we 
might give the Devil a chance,^’ said Crow as 
he glanced over the cards in his hand. “Any 
affectionate word of farewell you wish to send 
to the heartbroken and credulous Miss Graham t ^ ' 
asked young Priest insultingly. 

“You cowardly sneak. How dare you utter 
a name so sacred with lips so polluted. ’ ^ 

“Here’s to the health and long life of the 
Exalted Knight of the Laboring Clans, ’ ’ laughed 
Crow as he lifted a glass of sparkling liquor 
to his lips. 

“Here’s to the health and throbbing heart 
of the weeping Joan of the Knight. May she 
still pursue unpursued, her Knight,” toasted 
young Priest as he drank to the dregs of his 
glass. “Here’s to the rotten carcass of the 
Knight of the Rustic Clan ! Here ’s to the scalp 
of his cocoanut!” exclaimed Crow as he raised 
his second glass. ‘ ‘ Then it is up to me to drink 
again to the health of the blackeyed concubine 


262 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


of the distinguished Exalted Knight who graces 
this hour with his presence. Here it goes. Here’s 
to the — 

Hands up! Hands up!” cried a strange 
looking fellow as he pushed himself quickly into 
the cave with a drawn revolver in each hand. For 
a second young Priest and Crow were dum- 
founded. The glasses dropped with a crash 
upon the table. They could not understand 
the uncermonious and significant approach 
of the stranger. 

Hands up! Hands up or I shoot!” com- 
manded the voice again, as the arms of the two 
villains were lifted in agued fear. * * Search these 
men carefully, and place everything you find 
upon the cot!” exclaimed the stranger address- 
ing the old negro, who had by this time entered 
the cave. After about five minutes the old 
darky finished his search, and as a result, two 
revolvers, two pocket-knives, a few pieces of sil- 
ver coin, and three or four keys lay upon the 
cot. 

^‘Bind their hands and feet with that rope!” 
was the next command of the mysterious per- 
sonage, which rang out as before in an assumed 
masculine tone. 

This being accomplished, young Priest and 
Crow in a half-drunken stupor, lay bound upon 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


261 


the floor of the cave. During this time St. Clair^ 
who had sprung up in his cot, gazed in bewilder- 
ment upon the strange and exciting scene, and 
it was with exultant emotions he saw his bull- 
dozing abductors humiliated and disgraced in 
the toils of captivity. Silently, yet swiftly, the 
heroic stranger tried the keys in the lock that 
hound the chains around St. Clair’s ankles, un- 
til the right one clicked the lock. 

St. Clair, loosed of his imprisoning fetters, 
sprang to his feet, and grasping the hand of his 
deliverer exclaimed, “Thank God for this hour 
of freedom! Who are you? To whom am I 
indebted for this brave act?” 

“Who do you suppose?” asked the stranger 
as he lowered his head upon his breast. 

“I don’t know! Who is it? Speak, quick!” 

“A woman’s love!” exclaimed the stranger, 
tearing off the masque. 

“My God, Lucile, can this be you!” cried St. 
Clair as he threw his arms passionately around 
her, and drew the trembling girl to his bosom. 
Her head fell loosely upon his shoulder as she 
sank heavily within his embrace. She had 
fainted. 

As St. Clair laid the unconscious girl upon 
the cot, he saw a fixed smile upon her features, 
which was to him the silent testimonial of love 


264 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


and happiness. Her heart had spoken a lan- 
guage more potent than the tongue. Uncle Ned 
found a bucket of water near the entrance of 
the cave, and with this refreshing balsam of the 
mountain’s breast, St. Clair tenderly and anx- 
iously bathed her face until at last she regained 
consciousness, and as she opened her eyes she 
looked up with a smile, and with trembling lips 
said softly : 

“George, forgive me for my cruel words of 
that afternoon. I am so sorry.” 

“My heroine! My heroine!” exclaimed St. 
Clair as his hand fell gently upon her brow. 
“The past is in ashes; the present reunites us, 
and the future is ours. What more could my 
heart desire? What more could my ambition 
encompass?” 

“George, the sphere of my life is love, and 
upon its path we together shall journey toward 
our goal, in which lies the era of civic reform, 
the dawn of which already is casting its glow 
above the political horizon.” 

“How did you know I was here?” asked St. 
Clair fondly. 

“My dear, the story is a long one; an awful 
one, and as I am now too weak for the task of 
relating it, I shall wait until we start for home, ^ ’ 
said Lucile as she rose to her feet and glanced 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


265 


at her watch. ‘‘It is now half-past one.” 

“Get the horses quickly, Uncle Ned. We must 
be away from here at once, in order to reach 
home before the darkness of night emerges into 
the light of day.” 

“I don’t know what disposition to make of 
those devils over there,” said St. Clair as he 
and Lucile moved toward them. 

“Leave them here. They can soon loose them- 
selves and escape,” answered Lucile as she 
looked down upon the miserable wretches at her 
feet. 

“But they must be punished. They have 
grossly transgressed the laws of our country. 
They have basely violated the code of honor and 
decency, and as a result must suffer,” said St. 
Clair as he looked down with contempt. 

“For God’s sake, Lucile, have mercy on me! 
Spare me this disgrace! Your own father is as 
guilty as I, and unless you give me my liberty 
and guard what I have done with silent tongue 
I’ll ruin him forever,” cried John Priest. 

“Do you mean to say that my father is asso- 
ciated with you in this criminal contrivance?” 
asked Lucile with feigned surprise. 

“Yes, and a hundred other crimes, each of 
which would put him behind prison bars, and 
where he will go, if you force me there, ’ ’ threat- 


266 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ened Priest as he cast an angry glance toward 
St. Clair. 

believe you have lied against Judge Gra- 
ham, but even if you have spoken the truth, you 
are none the less a sneaking coward to betray 
a fellow-conspirator, and disregard the ethics 
that institute honor among even thieves and 
brigands,^’ said St. Clair scornfully. 

‘‘Since we are bound and helpless you can 
afford to fling your imprecations between our 
teeth. You can afford to assume the role of a 
chivalrous knight and taunt us with your vir- 
tue,” snarled Priest. 

St. Clair thought of the insults with which 
they had but a short while before clothed the 
name of the girl he loved, and as he thought 
of how they used her pure name in the toasts 
of their drunken revelry, his blood boiled within 
him. 

“Dogs that you are. I now have the power 
to drink my fill of sweet retaliation. I have the 
power to bespatter these mountain walls with 
your brains and soak the ground with your 
blood, but as it is cowardly to take advantage 
of vanquished foes, I am going to give you a 
fair chance for your life. I am going to meet 
you honorably as man to man. There ^s a debt on 
life's ledger that must be paid tonight, and noth- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


267 


ing under heaven or above hell can balance that 
account but the black hand of death.’’ 

‘ * O George, what do you mean ! ’ ’ cried Lucile 
as she laid her trembling hand upon his arm. 

* ‘ I mean that I am going to revenge the slurs 
against your honor and virtue. That I am going 
to transform this rendezvous of tyrants into a 
cavern of honor.” 

^‘Then, for the sake of vengeance you would 
make a plaything of your life? No, you must 
not! You shall not take this chance of losing a 
life I have just saved, and which is dearer to 
me than my own. The field of honor is not here, 
but amid the toiling millions who are now bat- 
tling against want and ruin. Then, again, I 
have a reason for wishing them to escape. I 
can not tell you now what it is, but trust me in 
this and grant my wish.” 

‘‘You are right, my dear, our lives are too 
useful to jeopardize them in the retribution of 
personal wrongs. We must save them for s 
greater sacrifice. We must save them for the 
moral carnage of cold-blooded Commercialism. 
Your wish is granted, dear, we shall leave them 
here. ’ ’ 

“John Priest,” exclaimed Lucile, “you have 
sinned against God, and to him alone must yon 
answer for your crimes; therefore I leave you in 


268 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the hands of Him, for it is written, ‘Vengeance 
is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord! Come, 
Oeorge, Uncle Ned is waiting outside with the 
horses. Come, let us leave this accursed place; 
this rendezvous of the brigand and dungeon of 
the plutocrat over which so much evil has 
brooded.^’ 

‘ ‘ Honey, youse ride Princess, and, Marse 
George, youse ride Pat, and dis ole nigger will 
foot hit, ’ ^ said Uncle Ned as St. Clair and Lucile 
approached. 

“No, Uncle Ned, you are old and feeble; I am 
young and spry, so you take the saddle and I 
will walk,^’ replied St. Clair affectionately. 

“No, Marse George,’^ answered the old darkey 
shaking his white woolly head, and making a 
low bow, “dis ole nigger ain^t made dat way/^ 

Persuasion was useless, so after promising to 
send some one to meet Uncle Ned, St. Clair 
sprang into the saddle, and soon the clattering 
hoofs of Pat and Prince were heard upon the 
mountain road. 


'^Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of 
heaven, 

Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots 
of the angels.'* 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


269 


CHAPTER XIII. 


"Shall we resign 

Our hopes, renounce our rights, forget our wrongs 
Because an Impotent lip beneath a crown, 

Cries, ‘Be it so'." 



T. CLAIR’S appearance in the city 
next morning was a mystery no 
one seemed able to interpret, as 
the Exalted Knight of the Labor- 
ing Clans, whom the people had mourned as 
dead, was now alive in their midst. Reporters 
pressed him for an interview, but all the satis- 
faction they received was that his supposed 
tragical disappearance was the base artifice of 
political tricksters, who in order to gain their 
sordid ends presented a farce-tragedy with a 
pusillanimous cast; that his personal belongs 
ings found upon the river’s bank were stolen 
from him presumedly for the purpose, and that 
the letters purporting to be his farewell declara- 
tions of vile perfidy were nothing less than fab- 


270 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


rications or instruments of deceit. So with these 
few facts for a foundation, the reporters sur- 
mised enough to give to their respective news- 
papers a thrilling and extensive account of how 
St. Clair foiled the evil designs of his enemies, 
and rose victoriously over them. 

Three o^clock in the afternoon found him in 
the Graham home conversing seriously upon the 
political and domestic problems confronting 
them. Judge Graham had not yet returned, and 
Kate had phoned that her hostess wished her to 
spend another evening; therefore, Lucile and 
St. Clair had every moment to themselves, and 
were uninterrupted in the assimilation and con- 
fluence of their plans. 

^‘In spite of your bold charge and brave ac- 
tion in rescuing me as a brand from the fire, we 
can not sincerely claim to be wholly victorious, 
for in the end our enemies have materially tri- 
umphed over us, in as much as they have robbed 
our cause of the very essence of its vitality,’’ 
said St. Clair seriously. 

can not see where they have defeated a 
single purpose of ours. We have the brain and 
sinew of the nation beneath our standard, and 
this great army of followers should inspire our 
progress,” replied Lucile defiantly. 

^‘Yes, but the loss of the Hewett papers 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


271 


knocks the trolley from the charged wire; in 
other words, we are handicapped, we are power- 
less to move forward with the charges against 
the men who are devastating our country and 
fattening themselves upon the spoils.^* 

‘‘The loss of the Hewett papers?’’ exclaimed 
Lucile perplexedly. “What do you mean? You 
told me last night that they could not find them, 
and had accused you of disposing of them be- 
fore your capture. You now tell me they have 
them. ’ ’ 

“The papers were in my suit-case the even- 
ing of my capture, therefore, I am almost cer- 
tain they found them when they took my bag- 
gage from my room, but that they pretended 
to know nothing of them in order to have an 
excuse for keeping me a prisoner until after 
the final adjournment of the next Legislature,” 
explained St. Clair. 

‘ ‘ Then, if you had the Hewett papers in your 
possession you could make and prove accu- 
sations that would rid the United States Senate 
of a despot — ” 

“Yes, and the State of Texas of a political 
cockatrice,” interrupted St. Clair scornfully. 

“Then, in as much as I sought to uphold the 
dignity of my State and defend what I believed 
then to be the pure name of her Senator, by 


272 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


sacrificing the mate of my heart in the further- 
ance of those ends, I now go forth to abrogate 
my sacrificial act, and with a burning vengeance 
actuated by a bruised heart, I accompany you, 
my dear boy, to the civic arena, the field of 
honor, to there strike against Bradley the 
knighted traitor of the legislative battle-field,^’ 
said Lucile sadly, as tears filled her eyes and 
rolled down her flushed cheeks. 

‘‘Those tears upon my lips are as sweet as 
the dew of morning upon the withering petals 
of a thirsty flower,” exclaimed St. Clair as he 
kissed away the tears. 

“They only represent the offering I am 
about to lay upon the altar of my country. I 
have just found papers in the possession of my 
father which link his judicial acts, not only 
with the conspiracies of Senator Bradley and 
the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, but with many 
other powerful interests. I have to acknowl- 
edge with bowed head and aching bosom the 
awful truth of his many intrigues with the forces 
of organized capital, which reflect their light 
upon his betrayal of the laboring people, and 
cast their weird shadows over the Graham home, 
for I would rather be a poor beggar-girl upon 
the street earning virtuously and honestly my 
pennies than to be the child of a judicial free- 



“George, take these letters which incriminate the official 
acts of my father; take them with a crushed heart for the 
honor and safety of Texas,” said Lucile as she extended 
the hand containing the papers. — Page 27.3. 






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THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


273 


booter and share the spoils of such infamous 
traffic/’ answered Lucile in a tone that bespoke 
the moral strength of a pure noble woman. 

* ‘ Lucile, a spirit like yours is too beautiful for 
this earth of selfish mortals; it ought to be a 
gem in the crown of Jehovah,” said St. Clair 
as he pressed her hand in his own, and gazed 
fondly into the face of his beloved, the incarnate 
structure of divine patriotism. 

‘‘Thank you, George, but this is not an hour 
of fiattery; it must be an hour of deeds, not 
words,” replied Lucile, as she lifted from the 
large library table a bundle of papers in the 
shape of a scroll. 

“George, take these letters which incriminate 
the oflScial acts of my father; take them with a 
crushed heart for the honor and safety of 
Texas,” said Lucile, as she extended the hand 
containing the papers. 

“My dear, in accepting these letters, the silent 
yet loud testimonials of your father’s shame 
and dishonor, I do so as the executor of the stem 
commands of Justice, and in following this 
course I shall be subservient to your desires as 
to the method of procedure,” answered St. 
Clair, as he imfolded his arms from his breast 
and took the papers. 

“George, in lifting my hand in the defense 


274 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


of the honor of Texas, I raise it against the dis- 
honor of my father ; therefore, my desire is that 
we defend the interests of our people without 
unveiling the awful shame that has invaded my 
home and destroyed its sanctity.^’ 

‘‘Then in that case, my dear, there is but one 
course open to your father beneath the veil that 
-hides his crimes. 

“What is thatr* 

““The immediate resignation of his seat in the 
State Judiciary, and his retirement forever 
from all offices of governmental trust, replied 
St. Clair emphatically. 

“George, I don^t believe father will submit 
to those terms, for his haughty spirit will doubt- 
less rebel at the thought of such condescensoin. ^ 

‘“That is his only avenue of escape, and surely 
lie will prefer that which appears to be a volun- 
tary resignation to the humiliation of compul- 
sory expulsion through the process of impeach- 
ment.” 

‘ ‘ Since I learned the truth of my father ’s dis- 
loyalty to his people, I have fought a terrible 
vbattle with myself upon the line of decision. In 
tny mind I saw two contending forces, each bat- 
tling for my services. Upon one side were filial 
duties and affections, while upon the other were 
oppressed hosts of laboring people, contending 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


275 


for their natural and inalienable rights usurped 
from’ them by the arbitrary power of combined 
capital operating through their hired agents, the 
trusted and unfaithful representatives of the 
people. I weighed these respective issues in the 
scales of my conscience, like grains of gold in a 
pair of balances, therefore, as a result I am now 
ready to answer the call of my country, and in 
the name of the liberties of her people, surren- 
der to her sacrificial altar my sacred ties of 
flesh and blood, said Lucile with trembling 
lips, as fresh tears rolled down upon each flushed 
cheek like 


“Dew-drops, which the sun 
Impearls on every leaf and every flower.” 

‘^My dear, the motive that inspires this action 
of yours is akin to that which prompted the old 
Patriarch of antiquity to bind his Isaac on 
Moriah’s altar of fagots.” 

“Yes, but my sacrifice will be greater, for 
there will be no lamb forthcoming; no voice to 
command the staying of the knife. ’ ’ 

“Lucile, we must be brave and bear what- 
ever comes with the fortitude of a true Chris- 
tian soldier and American patriot, for I feel 
that God is outlining our course and directing 


276 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


our steps, therefore, if he be for us, no man 
can prevail against us — ’’ 

^^No, not even the gates of Hell!’’ interrupted 
Lucile. 

*‘If the people could only realize their great 
strength, and have faith in the Omnipotent 
power that gives force to every blow struck in 
their defense, this faith would be like a bomb- 
shell in the ranks of our enemies, driving them 
terror-stricken from the field of conquest,” said 
St. Clair forcibly. 

Lucile stepped from the room and returned 
with a square-shaped package. 

‘‘George, I have here a bomb which when ex- 
ploded will not only terrorize our aristocratic 
adversaries, but madden our own hosts into an 
action so effective that the bloody throne of Plu- 
tocracy will be leveled to the dust, and its 
sceptre consumed in the conflagration of a peo- 
ple’s wrath.” 

“My God, Lucile, the Hewett papers! Where 
under heaven did you get them?” exclaimed St. 
Clair wildly as Lucile imwrapped the iron box 
that held them. 

During the next few minutes she told the 
story of her connection with the papers ; how in 
her eagerness to save the man she believed to be 
innocent she slipped unnoticed and disguised 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


277 


from her room a short while after St. Clair’s 
departure from her home the afternoon of the 
estrangement and broken engagement; how she 
went to the hotel, watched her opportunity, and 
when he left his room, entered and took from 
his suit-case the iron box with its contents, which 
had caused such a disturbance only a short while 
before, and with the prize of her conquest, re- 
turned home and locked it in her trunk. 

“And you really believed you had captured 
Pandora’s box of evils?” interrupted St. Clair 
with renewed enthusiasm. 

“Yes, and I also thought I was lifting a crown 
of thorns from the brow of one who was being 
unjustly crucified upon the rough cross of envy 
and hatred, but little did I realize that in so 
doing I was only snatching the noose from the 
neck of a political and avaricious Judas who 
had pressed a kiss of betrayal upon the lips of 
Texas. ’ ’ 

“It is indeed fortunate that you accom- 
plished your purpose by gaining possession of 
these papers upon that eventful day, for had 
they remained in my suit-case, they would now 
in all probability be in the vaults of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, and consequently our plans 
for this great warfare of right against wrong 
would be thwarted, and our onward march to 


278 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. 


the goal of a stainless flag temporary impeded if 
not permanently checked/’ 

*^In securing the papers I was only an instru- 
ment in the Divine Hand which ‘moved in a 
mysterious way His wonders to perform,’ ” said 
Lucile reverently. 

“I have a conference with the Attorney- 
General tonight, at which time I shall place in 
his hands this box of papers,” said St. Clair as 
he laid it on the table by his side. 

“George, in doing that you take the initial 
step against boodlers, government office-traffick- 
ers, and the vilest of political prostitutes. It is 
needless for me to say to you, do your duty, for 
such is the incentive of all your acts ; but for my 
sake and for the cause that is dearer than life, 
be careful and shift clear of the clutches of these 
despicable oppressors of the poor,” pleaded Lu- 
cile affectionately. 

“Of course, we can not tell how this cam- 
paign will terminate, but should I become a 
victim of the wrath of my enemies, I wish you 
to keep this as a remembrance of me,” said St. 
Clair as he took from his pocket a small gold 
locket and chain. “This is the only certificate 
I have of my legitimate birth; the only gift I 
have from my mother and father whom I do 
not remember nor know anything of. The mat- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


279 


ron of the orphanage to which I was taken said 
I was brought there by a young girl who claimed 
to have found me lost and alone on a street in 
New York City. Everything was done to locate 
my parents, but to no avail, so as a seemingly 
parentless child I was domiciled in that New 
York orphanage until adopted and taken by 
Senator Bradley and his wife to their home in 
Texas. 

'‘But where did you get the locket and 
chain?” asked Lucile in a perplexed tone. 

“The matron gave it to Mrs. Bradley, and 
told her it was fastened around my neck when 
I was brought to the orphanage,” replied St. 
Clair. 

“To Baby St. Clair from Mamma and Papa,” 
read Lucile as she gazed tenderly upon the 
locket. 

“George, there is nothing I appreciate more 
than I do this remembrance of your babyhood, 
for I feel that your mother and father, who- 
ever they may have been, were kind and noble 
people, for no other than tender hearts and lofty 
characters had those words of alfection en- 
graved there. Then again, ‘like begets like,^ 
therefore such a pure and magnanimous son 
could hardly have been the offspring of a dis- 
similar parentage.” 


280 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘My dear, I appreciate your words of love 
and kindness, but I suppose upon this earth I 
shall never be able to clear this mystery, ^ ^ added 
St. Clair reflectively. 

“Well, I am going to guard and treasure this 
keepsake of yours, and revere the parents of the 
greatest man in the world by wearing it only 
upon occasions that bring honor to their son,^' 
exclaimed Lucile, as she fastened the chain 
gently around her neck, and pressed the locket 
to her lips. 


“To hallow’d duty, 

Here with a loyal and heroic heart, 
Bind we our lives.’’ 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


281 


CHAPTER XIV. 


“Tyrants seldom die 
Of a dry death; it waiteth at their gate, 
Brest in the colors of their robes of state." 



OHN PRIEST and Crow arrived 
in Dallas the day following St. 
Clair’s release from the cave, and 
were soon in conference with 
Judge Graham who with wild frenzy lis- 
tened to their story of Lucile’s midnight charge 
in the defense of the man who stood as a colossal 
figure across his path, transversing his course to 
the richer fields of political glory and commer- 
ciay wealth. He took the next train from Aus- 
tin, and was soon in the presence of hisdaughter. 

“I have already heard with deep humiliation 
and shame how you in the guise assumed 
masculinity disgraced yourself forever.” 

‘‘Yes, and I have found how you, in the ermine 
of judicial power and beneath the vestments of 
public confidence, are wrecking and ruining your 


282 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


country, ^ ^ answered Lueile intrepidly. 

“My God! What do you mean by making 
this bold charge against your father ! ’ * exclaimed 
Judge Graham vehemently. 

“What I have just said bears no other con- 
struction — you are guilty of bribery.^’ 

“That damned scoundrel St. Clair has influ- 
enced you against me by allegations as false as 
he is false 1’^ exclaimed Judge Graham 
angerly. 

“It was I, not he, who discovered your 
crimes,” added Lueile. 

“Then, in your thirst for vengeance against 
your father, you would seek to ruin and dis- 
honor him by mere presumption.” 

“No, in this attack against you and your con- 
genial confederate, the hypocritical Bradley, we 
are not charging with pop-gnus of presumption, 
but with fixed bayonets of positive proof — ^the 
written instruments of your perfidious negotia- 
tions against the sinewy sons of toil, and with 
these creations of your corruption we move 
against you. ^ ^ 

“Then, if such are to be your weapons of vin- 
dictive attack, you advance with a forged 
armory, for my hand has never penned so much 
as a word derogatory to the welfare of Texas 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


283 


or to the interests of the people/’ replied Judge 
Graham forcibly. 

father who would deceive and crush the 
heart of his child by causing her to believe that 
the man she loved was dead, and at the same 
time was secretly conspiring to destroy him, is 
indeed cruel, and so destitute of principle that 
he would without a single scruple make mer- 
chandise of his country, and at the shrine of 
Mercury offer his own countrymen,” answered 
Lucile with much feeling. 

^‘By those words you desecrate the blood 
within your veins ; your profane the name 
you bear ! ” cried the Judge as he sank down into 
the large chair by his side. 

‘^By those words I revere the blood of my 
mother, a blood that is royal because she to her 
country was royal,” replied Lucile passionately. 

Before Judge Graham had time to answer, 
the servant announced St. Clair. 

”How dare he! How dare he!” exclaimed 
the Judge fiercely, as Lucile left the library to 
meet St. Clair in the hallway. 

” George, Father is here with his war-paint 
on,” whispered Lucile. 

“Still after my scalp, I suppose,” exclaimed 
St. Clair in a low tone. 

“He has heard it all from John Priest and 


284 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Crow, and severely censures me for my action 
the other night; and when he mentions your 
name he becomes frantic, therefore, my dear, 
you must leave the house at once, as father is 
not in the proper mood for you to approach 
him,’’ said Lucile nervously. 

^‘My darling, I must see him at once, as he 
and I must understand each other more thor- 
oughly,” replied St. Clair emphatically. 

“But in meeting him you will encounter a 
storm, a raging storm,” warned Lucile as she 
laid her hand upon St. Clair’s shoulder. 

‘ ‘ Then, my dear, what I have to say will calm 
the storm and silence the thunderbolt.” 

“But, George, I am afraid there will be trou- 
ble,” replied Lucile pleadingly. 

^ ^ No, Lucile, there will be no trouble, I promise 
you this, so favor me by doing what is best for 
us all.” 

“Then, come with me to the library,” said 
Lucile as she led the way. 

“What do you want here!” exclaimed Judge 
Graham as St. Clair followed Lucile into the 
library. 

“I wish to see you upon a very important 
matter,” answered St. Clair calmly. 

“I do not care to see you at all; your im- 
portant matters do not interest me in the least,” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


285 


replied the Judge with a savage growl. 

‘*But this matter is of vital interest to us 
both.’’ 

“I repeat again, Sir, I do not wish to see you; 
so go, leave my house at once.” 

‘‘But you will see me. I came here for that 
purpose, and will not leave until I have this 
interview with you. I am a gentleman, and as 
such demand the courtesies due a gentleman,’^ 
replied St. Clair boldly. 

‘ ‘ I must admit. Sir, you have an extraordinary 
case of abnormal gall.” 

“My mission here today is not to hear your 
diagnosis of my physical infirmities, but one 
of more import. I came as the representative of 
down-trodden thousands,” said St. Clair delib- 
erately. 

“Yes, you are right, you are the leader of the 
rabble; an ill-bred fractional part of the riff- 
raff who are today howling as curs at the feet 
of great and noble men,” replied the Judge 
scornfully. 

“My blood is as pure as yours, and were it 
not for the love and respect I have for your 
daughter, I would give your accusations the lie, 
and brand you with its stigma. I am proud to 
acknowledge my leadership of a people who 
have risen in the majesty of their citizenship 


286 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


against Senator Bradley and his fellow-conspira- 
tors in freeing Texas forever from the prince of 
demagogues and his royal court of political de- 
bauchery/^ said St. Clair defiantly. 

There is your hat, there is the door, and 
yonder you will find the street. Go ! I again 
and for the last time command that you leave 
my home now and forever!^’ cried the Judge 
angrily. 

shall go. Judge, when I communicate to 
you certain facts relevant to your future and 
the dignity and safety of Texas. 

*‘What are those facts, Sir?^^ asked the Judge 
disdainfully after a moment ^s reflection. 

^ ‘ That you resign the office you now hold, and 
retire forever from the Body Politic, answered 
St. Clair resolutely. 

^‘Resign! What do you mean?’^ exclaimed 
the Judge with an assumed expression of per- 
plexity. 

^‘You have judged the interests of the com- 
mon people as a Supreme Judge of our State 
through the influence of combined capital. You 
have taken the staff of commercial progress and 
financial development from the hands of the 
daily laborer, and placed it as a sceptre in the 
vaults of Wall Street. You have desecrated the 
oracle of Justice by transforming it into a mar- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


287 


ket house where you bartered the liberties of the 
poor people — ^their natural heritage — for a 
mess of golden pottage. Therefore, as an im- 
postor, your moral right to an office of trust and 
honor is forfeited,” expostulated St. Clair fear- 
lessly. 

‘‘By what authority do you demand a dig- 
nitary of this State to resign his commission?” 
asked Judge Graham with shameless audacity. 

“By the implied authority vested in me by 
the laboring people of Texas.” 

“What proof have you, St. Clair, to substan- 
tiate these false and slanderous charges?” 

“Positive proof. Judge, positive proof. Writ- 
ten documents of your own hand which cry out 
with accusations against you,” replied St. Clair. 

“You are not only a liar, but a forger, and 
111 make a jail-bird of you before night I” cried 
Judge Graham bitterly. 

“Father, be careful; you have raised your 
hand too often already against the man I love. 
He is neither a liar nor a forger, for the papers 
to which he refers are without doubt your own, 
as I myself found them among your letters and 
gave them to him,” said Lucile, who up to this 
time had silently listened to the heated words 
which passed between her father and St. Clair. 

“What! You, my own child! Have you de- 


288 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


livered your father into the hands of his enemies 
to be consumed by their insults?’’ exclaimed the 
Judge passionately. 

‘^No. I’m going to shelter you from them by 
giving you an opportunity to escape, but I would 
be untrue to my country to remain silent and 
passive while even a father was preying upon 
the vitals of the nation,” replied Lucile. 

* ‘ Escape ! Escape from what ? ’ ’ exclaimed the 
Judge irritably. 

^*From the shame that surrounds you on 
every side, and from the moral infections with 
which you have soiled your ermine,” answered 
Lucile. 

‘‘Like a slimy serpent, you have crawled be- 
tween a father and his child, burying your pois- 
onous fangs in the ties that bind them,” snarled 
Judge Graham, as he rose impetously to his 
feet and faced St. Clair. 

“No! You have severed those ties yourself 
by prostituting your natural allegiance to the 
greatest State in the Union, and by betraying the 
best people in the world,” declared St. Clair. 

“I tell you again to leave this house. If you 
don’t, I’ll kick you out like a miserable dog!” 
cried Judge Graham harshly. 

‘ ‘ Father ! This is my home. I hold a deed 
to it in my own name, therefore, I forbid you 


THE NOBLEST ROIVIAN. 


289 


exercising such bold authority over my guest!’’ 
exclaimed Lucile as she stepped between her 
father and St. Clair. 

* * My child ! My child ! Are you going to obey 
the dire commands of a cold-blooded enemy by 
driving your poor old father over the precipice 
of ruin!” cried the Judge in a tone of deep 
agony. 

“Judge Graham, you are the father of the 
girl who has promised to be my wife, and for 
that reason I wish to spare you the open dis- 
grace which the punishment of your several 
crimes would inevitably bring upon you — ” 

“Sir! I’m not at your mercy, so you need 
not suffer yourself the trouble of sparing me the 
torment and humiliation at the hands of such 
savagery as you incite,” interrupted the Judge. 

“It is for your own daughter’s sake that I 
have shown you the mercy of a magnanimous 
compromise; for her only have I made a single 
concession, ’ ’ replied St. Clair. 

‘ ‘ My daughter ! I have no daughter, from this 
day I disinherit her of all my property, and 
were it not for the deed to this house she has 
in her possession, I would drive her from this 
domain, for she is unworthy the name of Gra- 
ham.” 

“Tho’ I hold the deed to this home, it is not 


290 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


mine by moral right. It belongs to the people 
of Texas, for every dollar expended upon it is 
but the crystalized tears of poverty; therefore, 
in the name of my God and my country, I am 
going to convert this palacious home, in which 
is the ‘gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls,' 
into an orphanage, that its beneficiaries may 
bless and preserve the sacred traditions which, 
entwined with the ivy, cling to its walls. ' ' 

‘ ‘jNo other but the brain of a degenerate child 
■would conceive such thoughts of desecration; 
no other would cast such a dark shadow upon an 
aristocratic genealogy," said Judge Graham 
distractedly as he placed the floor while curses 
flowed unspoken from his heart. 

“In turning this home into an orphanage, 
I hope to abrogate the infamy you have brought 
npon the house of your fathers by mortgaging 
your soul to the devil and selling your pledged 
services to corrupt monopolites, " replied Lucile 
decidedly. 

^‘Enough! Enough!" cried Judge Graham. 
‘ ‘ I shall bare my breast no longer to the barbed 
idarts of such maledicency I ' ' 

“Judge, for the last time I ask if you will 
acquiesce in our requests for your resignation 
from the Judiciary?" asked St. Clair. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


291 


* ‘ No ! You wretch ! I see you in Hell first ! ' * 
exclaimed the Judge hotly. 

‘ ‘ J udge ! I would not trespass upon your own 
principality down there to arbitrate this ques- 
tion. The decrees of the people are compulsory, 
therefore, in behalf of their sovereignty, I de- 
mand your resignation within thirty days,^* re- 
plied St. Clair vehemently as he left the library, 
followed by Lucile. 


‘There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough-hew them how we will.” 


292 


THE NOBLEST KOMAN. 


CHAPTER XV. 


‘*Yet I must tell thee, it would better suit 
A fierce despotic chief of barbarous slaves, 
Than the calm dignity of one who sits 
In the grave senate of a free republic, 

To talk so high, and as it were to thrust 
Plebeians from the native rights of man.” 



HE great Conference styled as 
the “ Knights of the Labor- 
ing Clan,” which met in the 
City of Galveston, adjourned 
sine die. George St. Clair, their former leader, 
was re-elected Exalted Knight of as loyal clans- 
men as ever rallied beneath the standard of 
Scotland's Bruce. Their committee on Civic 
Reform” had been extremely vigilant during the 
past year, and as a result unearthed much 
treachery among the government officials against 
the interests of the common people. 

Among the many charges reported by this 
committee, there were forty-two brought against 
Senator Bradley, each substantially backed by 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


293 


iron-clad evidence which threw its light of re- 
vealment upon the official acts of the Senator, 
who for bribes disguised as personal loans, rep- 
resented interests adverse to those of his people. 
They discovered that he was the only Demo- 
crat in the United States Senate that stood 
shoulder to shoulder with Aldrich, the base in- 
carnation of the Gigantic Oil Company, and voted 
with him for the infamous Aldrich fiscal bill; 
that he voted against the canal bill, which if 
passed would have given the people cheaper 
transportation rates; how he aligned himself 
with the railroads to defeat the Rate Bill by 
attenxpting to engraft an amendment upon that 
bill, which, in the concensus of opinion of the 
profoundest constitutional lawyers of the coun- 
try, would have killed it; how he voted against 
the bill limiting the hours of laborers, mechanics, 
etc., employed upon the public works of the 
United States to eight hours ; that he is the only 
Democrat in Congress who enjoys the distinc- 
tion of having his name ciphered in the Gigantic 
Oil code. 

With these charges, St. Clair returned to 
Austin to represent his district in the next ses- 
sion of the Legislature that was to convene two 
days hence. On the night before the Legislature 
assembled, St. Clair with a few other Repre- 


294 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


sentatives who were ready to aid him in his 
charges against Senator Bradley, met in a down- 
town law office to formulate methods of pro- 
cedure against the demagogic usurper of official 
power. It was at this caucus that St. Clair pro- 
duced a resolution he had prepared concerning 
the contemplated investigation of Senator Brad- 
ley, which afterwards became famous as the ‘^St. 
Clair Resolution.” 

At last the day for the opening of the Legis- 
ture arrive, at which time the Bradley machine 
began to operate; its strategetic wheels began 
to revolve on its old familiar axis of bribery, 
which were lubricated with a generous supply 
of Gigantic Oil. Many political mechanics hung 
around the old machine with assumed devotion, 
endeavoring to stop the hissing of the steam, 
which they for a time succeeded in doing; but 
an explosion consequently followed, besmirch- 
ing those around the prodigious machine 
with oil and grease, the stains of which will 
never wear off. 

As Senator Bradley’s term in Congress was 
about to expire, the Democratic ticket for the 
primary of the preceding July contained his 
name as a candidate for re-election. The returns 
of the primary election showed that he had 
received the nomination of his party, which was 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


295 


ratified by the Democratic State Convention held 
in Dallas. Therefore, as the Democratic nom- 
inee, his name was to be presented during the 
forthcoming session of the Legislature to be 
voted upon by that body. 

A terrific bomb burst in the Bradley camp a 
few days after the formal opening of the ses- 
sion, when St. Clair arose from the seat at his 
desk in the House and offered his resolution to 
investigate Senator Bradley ^s corporate connec- 
tions, and outlining the method of procedure 
of such investigation. No document could have 
represented more fully the fundamental princi- 
ples of Democracy ; every word breathed its mag- 
nanimous doctrine; but what are principles to 
men who wreck their country in order to fatten 
their individual resources upon its spoils. 

No sooner had the resolution been offered, 
when Kennel, the master mechanic of the Brad- 
ley machine, offered a substitute intended only 
as a whitewash. The line of battle was now 
drawn; on one side was Bradley and his in- 
fernal buccaneers; on the other was St. Clair 
and his Knights of the Laboring Clan. Over 
the former, the curses of hell east their shadows ; 
over the latter, the blessings of heaven fell. Dur- 
ing the entire session the Bradley forces were 
in the majority, and over every issue coming be- 


296 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


fore that body their sceptre swayed with des- 
potic power, consequently the St. Clair resolu- 
tion was defeated by the Kennel substitute, 
which was nothing less than a gilded subterfuge, 
a moral barricade for the defense of the modern 
Catiline. 

The perfidious investigation of Senator Brad- 
ley began, and no where in the annals of history 
except in the ancient courts of political debauch- 
ery can be found its parallel. The Hewett 
papers, bearing plainly upon their face the 
stigma of the Senator's gilt, were offered in evi- 
dence, and corroborated by impregnable testi- 
mony; yet, this Senator steeped in plutocratic 
venom and smeared with the slime of Judas 
Iscariot’s shame, was found ‘‘Not Guilty” of 
the charges preferred against him by St. Clair. 
Bradley, the accused of the people, through the 
arbitrary power of his political machine, be- 
came in himself the whole Inquisition, in which 
Democratic principles were trampled beneath 
cloven feet as trivially as “pearls before 
swine ; ’ ’ for the standard of monopolism was the 
ensign hoisted above the oracle of this deified 
Senator. The Great I Am, who from his mighty 
throne, demanded the false testimony with which 
to veneer his pollution with sanctimonious white- 
ness, and with which to clip his webbed wings 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


297 


that he might more easily assume the role of a 
virtuous god, and send throughout the kingdom 
of his crown the royal decree : ‘ ‘ Henceforth The 
King Can Do No Wrong 

While the investigation was in progress, the 
day set forth in the Constitution for the elec- 
tion of a United States Senator arrived. Jus- 
tice demanded that through legitimate strategy 
the election be put off day after day until the 
investigating committee finished their work 
and made their report, but the Senator, con- 
demned by his own consciense, felt uneasy, as 
does “the head that wears a crown so in the 
rigor of his supremacy, he issued through his 
machine a decree that the election be had upon 
the day set apart for it; therefore, the legisla- 
tive hell-hounds who followed in the wake of the 
royal master like swine after a swill-can, were 
ready to execute by their gilded votes his in- 
famous decree. 

While St. Clair was the recognized leader of 
the Anti-Bradley forces, he was instructed by 
his district to cast his vote in the Legislature 
for Senator Bradley’s re-election to the Senate. 
The eyes of all politicians were focused upon 
him. What was he going to do? Was he going 
to disregard the instruction of his constituency 
and cast his vote in harmony with his own per- 


298 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


sonal convictions? As the roll was called, each 
member responded to his name by voting for or 
against the Senator. 

The gallery was crowded with spectators, each 
impatiently waiting for St. Clair’s name to be 
called; but amid that great throng of men, 
women and children sat one whose heart beat 
faster as the long list of names were being read. 
She looked down with pride upon her lover at 
his desk, and when she saw all eyes turned 
fondly upon him, an expression of admiration 
passed over her features. 

The Reading Clerk called St. Clair’s name. 
For a moment a breathless silence prevailed over 
the vast assembly, but as St. Clair rose to his 
feet the silence gave way to the loud cheering 
which drowned the sound of the Speak- 
er’s gavel as he tried to restore order. A 
smile of satisfaction played over the face of St. 
Clair as he turned his eyes toward the gallery. 
The hearts of the people had spoken their mes- 
sage, and he received it. All was again still 
as he opened his mouth to speak. 

*^Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, Ladies 
and Gentlemen : 

“Individually, I am convinced beyond a reas- 
onable doubt that Senator Bradley is guilty of 
all the infamous conduct with which he is 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


299 


charged, but in behalf of the instruction of the 
people I represent, I feel in honor bound to cast 
their vote with which I am vested, for Senator 
Bradley. In my judgment, it is a grievous error, 
but it is their error, not mine. They have agreed 
to assume the responsibility, and I pass it up 
to them. In my opinion, Bradley is not only 
unworthy of the great office of Senator, but he 
is absolutely infamous. I regard him as I do 
any other criminal. I can not escape the con- 
clusion that he who has betrayed his people into 
the hands of a commercial pirate for gold is a 
traitor to his country. Left to vote my own 
sentiments, I would gladly defy all his minions 
of infamy and vote against him ; but a man must 
live up to his ideals. My ideal of a good govern- 
ment is one in which the people’s will is su- 
preme. I think it is better for a Representative 
to vote for a bad man; yea, a moral leper, as I 
believe Bradley to be, than to shatter an ideal of 
representative government, the observance of 
which is the hope of the nation. Having dis- 
charged ‘with scrupulous fidelity my promise 
to my people, I desire to take my place for the 
future among those who despise and defy him’." 

As St. Clair finished speaking, the gallery once 
more resounded with deafening applause, and as: 
he turned to acknowledge their greeting, thous- 


300 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ands of waving handkerchiefs met his vision ; but 
amid the waves of that agitated sea of humanity 
sat one whose heart was too full of joy for out- 
ward demonstration, save the tears which glis- 
tened in her eyes as she looked down from the 
gallery upon her idol in the House, whose face 
was turned toward her; and as she caught his 
eyes she responded with the sentiment of her 
soul by lifting to her lips the locket he had 
given her, by which act she revered the parents 
of the man she loved, and honored the hero of 
the hour. 

The vote was counted, and when the Speaker 
read the results of the election, a low murmur 
of indignation was heard throughout the gallery 
— the people had spoken again. As the Speaker 
was declaring Senator Bradley duly elected to 
represent the people of Texas in the Senate of 
the United States, the House suddenly grew 
dark, and before he had finishedj loud crashes of 
thunder were heard, followed by angry gusts of 
wind. It seemed as tho’ God was manifesting 
his displeasure in the victory won by the oppres- 
sor of His children, by casting a cloud of shame 
over the people ’s House of Representation, which 
by the machine of an unscrupulous politician 
who, in the lust for gold, destroyed its sanctity 
and made of it a den of thieves. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


301 


The committee appointed by the Speaker es- 
corted Senator Bradley to the platform where 
the oath of office was administered, after which 
he was presented to the members of the House 
and Senate, who were now in joint session. As 
he moved to the front of the platform his fol- 
lowerers received him with shouts. 

With ravish’d ears, 

The monarch hears, 

Assumes the god, 

Affects to nod, 

And seems to shake the spheres.” 

*^Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the Legisla^ 
ture: 

‘‘It is customary on occasions like this for a 
man to thank his friends and forgive his ene- 
mies. I shall conform to that custom far enough 
to say that the men who stood by me so loyally in 
this long and bitter contest can command me 
to the last drop of my heart’s best blood, but I 
will not play the hypocrite by pretending to 
forgive my enemies. Mark my words — the peo- 
ple of this State will soon learn that this is but 
the initial battle for the control of the Demo- 
cratic party in Texas. They will soon learn, as 
most of them have already learned, that as their 
representative in the Senate of the United 


302 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


States I am dispensable to their domestic, social 
and political tranquility/^ (Laughter and ap- 
plause.) 

‘‘Even my Liliputian enemies must sooner or 
later yield to the great Gulliver who today has 
triumphed over them, for his sword is drawn 
and the scabbard destroyed, and to George St. 
Clair, the leader of the gang against me, whose 
ambition is as boundless as his ability is limited, 
I say, for you and your infernal hosts to stand 
against me for a day means utter destruction 
to your camp of calumniators, who like youreslf 
have said things about me that they would not 
for their lives say to me. When a man says that 
I am not honest, he is a liar ; but I have not come 
to prove to you that I am honest, but to show 
you what a set of infernal scoundrels they are 
that are after me. I do not apologize for any 
thing I have done. I ask no quarter. I cry not 
for peace. I am for war. Let it be ‘war to the 
knife and knife to the hilt;^ and I exclaim: 
‘Lay on, Macduff, and damn’d be he who first 
cries, ‘hold, enough!’ Wlien I have finished 
with these creatures, I will make them wish 
they had never been bom. I would drive their 
myrmidons into the Gulf of Mexico, but I hate 
to befoul the waters of the gulf. 

“I will never stop imtil they are extermin- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


303 


ated, horse, foot and dragon, as I am enlisted in 
this war to the bitter end. I shall press this 
battle until their whole brood of hell are driven 
in disgrace and shame to the obscurity which 
awaits them, for we are going to bury them in 
camphored ice with their faces upward to pre- 
serve them for future punishment. If the 
Savior of the world were to come down here and 
testify for me, they would cry out crucify Him. 
May God have mercy on the souls of liars. I do 
not love money well enough to tempt me to be 
dishonest, as I have got about all I need. What 
I want now is revenge, and if I were dying, I 
would get well to fight these hyenas, for my rule 
is when a man smites me on one cheek, to smite 
him on both. I have not played the blandid 
demagogue; I have not waved the red flag, and 
cried out against every man whose shirt was 
white and clean, and, so help me God, I never 
will teach such a despicable doctrine. I do not 
think it a crime to prosper in this world, nor do 
I think a bath-tub is a sign of national decay. I 
call you to witness that I did not invite this con- 
test, and as I was not the first to call it on, I 
shall be the last to call it off.^^ 

For another hour the Senator continued to 
speak, during which time he made many flatter- 
ing promises to the people, which he never in- 


304 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


tended to carry into effect, but used them merely 
as a dyke to restrain the great tidal wave of 
public opinion he saw rushing in upon him, 
which was growing stronger and more volum- 
inous as it approached the temple of the egoical 
god. 

The unprincipled and factious public orator, 
who in the past had obtained an influence over 
the people by great professions and by suiting 
his addresses to the prejudices of his hearers, had 
now concluded his remarks, and was taking his 
seat upon the platform amid the applause of his 
credulous followers and avaricious hirelings. All 
eyes were now directed to the desk at which St. 
Clair was sitting, for they expected him to reply 
to the bitter speech of Senator Bradley; nor 
were they mistaken, for as Bradley closed his 
speech and took his seat, the modern Moses sent 
from Cod to claim his people from enthralment 
rose from his desk. 

‘‘Mr Speaker and Fellow-Colleagues: 

‘ ‘ It was not my original intention to say upon 
this occasion what I am going to say now, but 
since the red flag has been tauntingly waved in 
my face by the political buffoon who has just 
now finished his vindictive speech, I reply to 
his challenge, and say that the army of Belle- 
rophon is already marshaled and ready for the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


305 


fray against the self-styled Gulliver, who more 
appropriately should be titled *An Egotistical 
Goliath,’ whose paramount ambition is to drive 
the Israelites of Texas to the fathomless depths 
of her emerald gulf; or rather would I classify 
him as an intriguish politician who bears the 
same relation to the Democracy of Texas as 
Benedict Arnold bore the Colonial Cause dur- 
ing the last days of his American soldiery. 

‘^In a conference between counsel for the 
State and the Brooks-Priest Oil Company, Henry 
Priest said to me: ‘St. Clair, you are now my 
only stumbling block in Texas. ’ He came from< 
Austin fresh from his triumphial re-entry into 
Texas. 

“You, Senator, had pointed the way to evade 
the banishment of the courts!” exclaimed St. 
Clair as he pointed his finger at Senator Brad- 
ley. ‘ ‘ The Attorney-General had pronounced 
the forms of dissolution and reorganization to be 
legal. The Secretary of State had granted a 
new permit to do business. His proposition of 
settlement of his Waco litigation, made thirty 
days before in Waco in your presence, had been 
sanctioned by you, approved by my associate 
counsel representing the State, but rejected by- 
myself as county attorney. 

“Though I stood alone in those negotiations. 


306 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


I am far more proud of the compliment unin- 
tentionally paid by Priest than that offered by 
you when, a few years ago, at a convention in 
the city of Ft. Worth, you put your arm about 
me and said that I should be in Congress. 

‘‘In those other days, because of your bril- 
liancy, you caught my admiration; because of 
your eloquence, I hung upon your words; be- 
cause of your attainments, I rejoiced in your 
career. But as time has gone by, because of 
your service to an outlawed trust; because of 
your entanglements with predatory corpora- 
tions while pretending to serve the people; be- 
cause of your departure from the ancient ideals 
that made a Southern Senator his people’s 
pride; because you have forgotten that a good 
name be chosen rather than great riches; be- 
cause of your broken allegiance to your people 
and your defense of monopolies, I brand you as 
a moral Cerberus guarding the portals of Hell; 
consequently, I have become convinced that you 
should no longer hold a seat in the United 
States Senate. As the loyal representative of a 
noble people, I also draw my sword and cast its 
scabbard to the winds, and in the blasts of the 
itrumpet our brawny patriots will hear this 
antique declaration of war, 

“‘To your tents, O Israel!’” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


307 


While St. Clair was speaking, flowers from the 
gallery were being carried by the pages to his 
desk, and at the conclusion of his remarks, when 
he took his seat amid the applause of his people, 
he was surrounded by a wilderness of fllowers. 
Among them he saw a bunch of white water lilies, 
to which was fastened a small card bearing upon 
its face the familiar handwriting of Lucile; as 
he leaned forward he read: “To the noblest 
Roman of them all.’^ 


**One is a captain and one is a king, and the lead- 
ers are wise and great, 

But give us who serve in the ranks, O God, the 
spirit to ureet our fate! 

And, better to serve in the ranks, say we, than 
never to serve at all, 

For the ranks' are the source of a nation’s 
strength, its tower and its granite wall!” 


308 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


“While glorious murders 
Destroy mankind^ to form a tyranny, 

We’ll destroy tyranny, to form mankind.” 



FEW days prior to the senatorial 
election in the Legislature, Travis 
County ordered a special primary 
election to determine the wishes of 
the people of that county as to whether they 
endorsed Senator Bradley ^s re-election to the 
United States Senate. During the short cam- 
paign in that county, Bradley rallied his forces 
of gasconaders around him, and instructed them 
to use every means and exert every energy to 
carry the county. He drew his henchmen into 
secret caucus and outlined to them his plans of 
battle, and alloted to them their respective tasks. 

Behind closed doors in his suite of rooms at 
the hotel, he had a private conference with Ken- 
nel, his armor-bearer and instrument of dirty 
work. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


309 


‘‘Here, Kennel, is five thousand dollars to be 
used in this campaign. Take it and, like seed, 
sow it for the harvest to be reaped on next 
week’s election day.” 

“My dear Senator, I assure you this amount 
will be used to your best advantage ; that it will 
be sown upon fertile ground and yield an 
abundant harvest. I shall make a deal with 
every saloon man in Austin to serve free drinks 
to every voter who advocates the Bradley cause, 
and over each bar will be a sign to that effect. 
I shall get every prostitute in the red-light dis- 
trict to work in your behalf with their favorites, 
for every vote counts, and we must not leave a 
stone unturned. On the day of election I shall 
have carriages at the Confederate Home in 
which to bring the old soldiers to the polls, and 
with a little whiskey and pocket money we can 
command every one of their votes.” 

“Kennel, your plans are well laid! Go into 
the fray and, loosed of every scruple, work like 
Hell!” exclaimed Bradley as he laid his hand 
upon the shoulder of his manager. 

“Remember, Senator, I am at your command 
throughout this campaign — I am your ‘hound in 
the slips,’ so advise me when you will,” laughed 
Kennel as he opened the door and passed out. 

Such was Bradley’s formulated campaign, the 


310 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


intrigue of which penetrated not only the 
sacred domicile of the old patriots of the South, 
but with a fullness of venom cried out for him 
in licentious haunts of shame, and across the 
aromatic bars of moral degradation. But the 
old warriors of the South who stood like gods 
and fought like demons for principles they not 
only believed to be right, but for principles they 
knew were right, scorned the advance of one 
who, for their votes and glory of self, would cast 
the shadow of calumny and shame over the tem- 
ple of brave, yet vanquished gods. 

But in spite of the evil and shame that stig- 
matized his strategic campaign, he lost heavily 
in the county, throughout which every agency 
of vice and corruption was resorted to to secure 
and hold Bradley votes, and in which money 
was spent without stint, and “where wine, 
and women and song were integral parts’^ of the 
powerful and shameful machine which operated 
in Bradley ^s contest for supremacy. In accord- 
ance with the vote east in the special primary, 
Travis County instructed her two representa- 
tives to vote against Senator Bradley in the 
forthcoming election of United States’ Senator 
in the Legislature. One of the two who gave 
to his State a thorough system of voting, loyally 
obeyed the voice of his people by declaring him- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


311 


self against Bradley, the pillager of mankind. 
The other a true and tried warrior of democ- 
racy believing that a chosen representative owes 
fealty to the sovereign will, stood like an oak 
in the storm and bravely proclaimed the people ’s 
decree. But there were others in the House and 
Senate who, as corporate attorneys and de- 
fenders of monopolites, disregarded the wishes 
of a true constituency, and in the shame of their 
apostasy turned a deaf ear to the pleadings of 
their people, and listened only to the mandates 
of a corporate master, under whose inperial lash 
and before whose majestic throne they bent their 
nimble knees in deference. 

Senator Bradley’s investigation before fthe 
Legislature at last terminated and by a 
majority of the investigating comtnittee was 
declared ‘Not Guilty’. Next in order came his 
exoneration by the Legislature. When the votes 
were counted there were forty against him, 
which represented the voice of a righteous mi- 
nority composed of forty patriots who had brave- 
ly spoken for ‘ God and Home and Native Land 
but by the unscrupulous majority the tyrant of 
tyrants was exonerated, and carried in triumph 
to the Speaker’s platform, upon which Judge 
Graham was occupying a seat of honor, and who 
as the Senator approached, arose and stood by 


312 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the Speaker to welcome and embrace his con- 
genial friend and co-conspirator with whom he 
had stood shoulder to shoulder in the spoliation 
of his country. 

After a few personal and congratulatory 
words, the Speaker presented Bradley to the 
senators and representatives who were now in 
joint-session. The gallery was again packed 
with people, but when Bradley rose to speak, a 
weak applause from amid the thousands in the 
gallery was drowned by the shouts of the in- 
fernal majority on the lower floor, composed of 
solons who were now doing honor to the betray- 
er of the common people and their own interests. 
They were all but ready to prostrate themselves 
before him, the god of loot — that .peculiar 
species of the family of parasites, who receives 
his social and political vitality from the breast 
of that poisonous octopus known as Monopoly. 

want to record a prediction here tonight,’^ 
said Senator Bradley as he began his speech. 
^‘Out of the forty men that voted against my 
exoneration in this Legislature, not four will be 
back in the next Legislature. If you think we 
are not to have a flght next year you are mistak- 
en. They intend to control, if control they can, 
the delegates to the national convention. I in- 
vite the contest, and if I live I will devote my 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


313 


best energies to seeing that not one of their kind 
goes as a delegate to the National Convention 
from the State of Texas. If I live, not one of 
their kind will ever again disgrace the State of 
Texas by holding an office under its authority. 
They have made their own graves. We are go- 
ing to lay them gently away in those newly 
made graves. We are going to bury them face 
down, so the harder they scratch to get out, the 
deeper they will go toward their eternal rest- 
ing place. There is no place hereafter in the 
politics of Texas for the fence rider. The man 
who tries to fight between the lines is certain to 
be killed. 

In my home I intend to put the photograph 
of this Legislature. Two pictures will embrace 
the photograph. Over one I am going to write ; 
‘The Roll of Honor,’ and over the other I am 
going to write ‘The Rogue’s Gallery’, and I am 
going to swear my children never to forget the 
one or forgive the other. Mark my words, not 
one of the men who organized and who sought 
to accomplish this conspiracy will ever again 
wear the honors of Texas Democracy. 

They say this is a bitter speech. I intend 
for it to be bitter. If I might borrow sentiment 
from the great infidel, Robert G. Ingersol, I 
would say that sometimes I wfish that I might 


314 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


possess words of pure hate, words that would 
writhe and hiss like snakes, for only then could 
I express my opinion of the men who organized 
and who conducted this conspiracy against me. * ^ 

For quite a while Bradley continued to bom- 
bard the lines of his enemies with strong and 
hot imprecations, and as he finished his speech 
and took his seat the same applause as before 
greeted his ears, but in the gallery the people 
were silent, and sorrow like a gloom had left 
its shadow upon their features. They be- 
held their beautiful State — the State they loved, 
sunk in a mire of shame by the hand of a mod- 
dern Robespierre and his despicable followers, 
who in the hunger and madness for individual 
gain and pelf had become fat on civic spoils. 

During Senator Bradley’s speech, the mem- 
bers of the House and Senate who were against 
despotism rallied around St. Clair’s desk, and 
as Bradley took his seat at the close of his re- 
marks, they lifted St. Clair to their shoulders 
and amid the shouts in the gallery carried him 
to the Speaker’s stand. “Speech! Speech! 
Hear St. Clair, the people’s brave defender! 
Speech! Speech! Hear the loyal St. Clair!” 
cried a thousand voices is unison. 

The Speaker rapped angerly for order, but 
the sound of his gavel was not heard. As St. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


315 


Clair was led to the front of the platform the 
applause was renewed, and mingled with the 
shouts of the people were exclamations of loy- 
alty which told the story of a cause for which 
their hearts were beating — a cause as deep as 
hell and as high as heaven. 

Behold the Chief of our Clan!” rang out 
again with force and strength as St. Clair stood 
like a god before his people. 

Gentlemen of the House and Senate,” then 
turning his eyes toward the gallery, exclaimed, 
“Brave and fearless patriots of Texas: There is 
no higher honor this side of the portals of 
Heaven than that which crowns the chief of such 
a clan. There is no greater curse this side of 
hell than that which overshadows the betrayer 
of their cause, and ‘I believe the time will soon 
come when the man who turns a public office to 
a private advantage will be whipped from soci- 
ety along with the embezzler of money. A man 
is lacking in either intelligence or honesty, or 
both, who defends the acceptance by public ser- 
vants of employment from those whose interests 
are adverse to the interests of the public.’ ‘No 
man can serve two masters: for either he will 
hate the one, and love the other ; or else he will 
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye can 
not serve God and Mammon.’ 


316 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘I believe there is one sentiment common to 
every patriot here, and that is a feeling of hu- 
miliation at the conduct of the Legislature this 
afternoon, and of protest against the still great- 
er humiliation of this body a few minutes ago, 
when a chosen apostate turned his batteries 
against a defenseless people. Never in the his- 
tory of any free coimtry has any legislative as- 
sembly supinely submitted to so great an out- 
rage. I appeal to you to contemplate our con- 
dition of servitude. The House was in actual 
session; it had exonerated a senator under cir- 
cumstances that were apalling, and without a 
protest from the minority he was invited to ad- 
dress the members of the House and Senate. 

‘ ‘ Setting at naught every principle of decency 
and decorum, he took advantage of the occasion 
to pour upon some of those whose guest he was, 
a stream of as bitter words as ever fell from the 
lips of man. Having exhausted the power of 
a language fertile in invective, he longed for 
* words of pure hate^ with which to brand a part 
of his audience. But, I knew protest would 
have been vain. 

majority of the members had agreed to 
again answer the lash of this modern Caesar, 
and strain every servile muscle to bear onward 
his triumphal chariot. I know it is incredible; 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 31X 

yet why should we marvel 1 Does not history re- 
peat itself? Who has not read the story of 
Romeos humiliation when Tullia commanded 
the slave to drive the chariot over the prostrate 
form of her murdered sire, that she might wit- 
ness the crowning of her usurping lord? And 
why should not we, great patriots that we are, 
ride booted and spurred over the prostrate form 
of a debauched and outraged state? 

‘^Yes, we knew that protest would have been 
vain ; and yet we do protest ; for now we sound 
‘a protest that is also prophecy. We can touch 
once more the key that will sound a charge in 
the heart of every true man, and when the 
mighty chorus comes back from the people, it 
will be one in which ^whirlwinds of rebellion 
shake the world.’ A little more than five weeks 
ago, when a committee had been appointed to 
investigate him, his followers forced the Legisla- 
ture to vote before he could be investigated, be- 
cause he said the balloting must be had on the 
very day. When the investigation was closed he 
said he must be exonerated before the evidence 
could be read by the House, because delay would 
be embarrassing to him. I admire his splendid 
audacity. It has been to him what courage was 
to Ney and genious to Napoleon. But what are 
we? Mere puppets in a great political drama. 


318 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


That we dishonor ourselves and disgrace our 
State is nothing; it is everything that we exon- 
erate a senator ‘whose honor rooted in dishonor 
stands.’ There was a time when the men who 
wrote law for Texas felt a chivalry — ^that high 
and delicate sense of honor that deems a stain 
upon one’s country an individual disgrace — a 
time when they had so lately paid the price of 
freedom they would have scorned the dictation 
of any power under Heaven. But we, the puny 
progeny of men who consecrated San Jacinto 
and the Alamo, shall we tremble under the lash 
of a Gigantic Oil Senator? 

“Inspired by his henchmen at the capitol, 
men who knew not the evil they did, borne 
along on the hot wings of malice, sent runners 
throughout my home county to get names to a 
petition asking me to resign, and in a county of 
nearly five thousand white voters, I am informed 
they obtained a little more than six hundred 
names. Some of them are bad men, but most 
of them are good men who do not yet know the 
truth. In the face of their censure I salute 
them with profound respect, because as long 
as I can trust the heart of a good man I am 
willing to suffer and be patient with his reason. 
With the light of a little time turned steadily 
on the facts, I do not fear the result, though 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


3I9 


his minions from abroad may dart into every 
household to deceive and to debauch. If I de- 
sired to coin words of pure hate, I could re- 
member ‘ The Charge of the Light Brigade, ’ and 
reversing the simile, liken the Russian batteries 
on the surrounding hills to the two hundred 
newspapers in Texas that are against him and 
the six hundred who signed the petition, to the 
soldiers charging imder an order that was mis- 
xmderstood. I would liken this free and unsub- 
sidized press — these that constitute the terrible 
artillery of the people, to that solid flame of shot 
and shell, and say : 

“ ‘Cannon to right of them, 

Cannon to left of them, 

Cannon in front of them. 

Inton the jaws of Death, 

Into the mouth of Hell, 

Rode the six hundred!’ *' 

*‘But, my friends, I have not been trained in 
the school of the Senator. I treasure no resent- 
ment. Vengeance is not mine — in the hour 
of victory I will not repay. I believe that 
whatever is good in religion is good in politics, 
because my politics is woven with the morals 
that make a faith. When they threaten to drive 
me from the public service, I tell them their 
threats are vain. They can not touch the sphere 


320 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


I live in. They may strike terror to those who, 
like themselves, have never felt that patriotic 
tide that flowed through Wallace’s undaunted 
heart. But politics is not my trade. I neither 
care for office nor chase the vanities of place and 
power. I am one of those who believe that man 
best serves himself who serves his country and 
forgets himself. That is the sphere in which I 
live — a sphere in which their cloven feet have 
never trod. 

‘‘Humble as I am, and great as he is, he is 
still but an incident of my opposition. I stand, 
not against him, but against the things he does. 
He is but a concrete opposition to my ideal — 
an ideal that declares a man’s public life should 
be as clean as his private life. I believe that 
a man should be afraid to do wrong, though 
backed by legions, but being right, he should 
fear nothing on earth but God. It grieves me 
much — it ought to grieve every patriot — that 
some of the young men, they in whose bosoms lie 
the potential power of the future, should link 
their destinies with the destiny of this man. 
Others may appease their consciences with such 
fictions as the exigencies of the hour demand, 
but as for me, I would rather go down floating 
the flag of defiance than to receive the purple 
from his polluted hands.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


32i 


At the close of St. Clair’s speech the House 
adjourned until the following morning at nine 
^o’clock. The lower floor was soon crowded to its 
uttermost capacity with the people from the gal- 
lery who thronged around St. Clair, eager to 
grasp the hand of their chief, and offer them- 
selves to the holy cause of liberty — a cause of 
mercy and justice, through which the shackles 
of plutocracy were to be riven from the loins 
of the people, for 

“Easier were it 

To hurl the rooted mountain from its base, 

Than to force the yoke of slavery upon men 

Determin’d to be free.” 

As St. Clair was receiving the greetings from 
his people, his eyes were scanning the tumul- 
tuous crowd in search of the girl whose life had 
inspired him in the great service of his coun- 
try. At last he saw her — she was making her 
way toward him. For a moment their eyes met, 
but instead of a smile of love and affection, she 
greeted him with a look of anger and defiance. 

'‘My God, something is wrong,” thought St. 
Clair as he found himself pushing toward her. 
The throng around him seemed but a whirling 
mass of humanity. He felt as though his heart 
had ceased to perform its natural functions, and 


322 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


had become a deep reservoir into which waa 
emptying an icy stream. As they neared each 
other St. Clair extented his hand with an expres- 
sion of love upon his face that the true heart can 
not conceal, but instead of grasping the out- 
stretched hand, she pressed a small piece of 
folded paper between his fingers and without a 
word, turned away and was soon lost in the 
crowd. 

**How small, of all that human hearts endure, 
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


323 


CHAPTER XVII. 


“That, sir, which serves and seeks for gain 
And follows but for form, 

Will pack, when it begins to rain 
And leave thee in a storm. 



S St. Clair entered the elevator, 
which was to carry him to the first 
floor of the capitol, he nervously 
and anxiously unfolded the note 
Lucile had slipped into his hand during the 
great ovation tendered him by the people at the 
conclusion of his speech an hour ago. 

‘ ‘ George St. Clair : In your madness for ven- 
geance against Senator Bradley and my father 
you have struck me a mortal blow, by exhibiting 
to the public the crimes of my father. By such 
impetuosity you have lacerated my heart — ^you 
have forgotten the object of your love. By the 
same awful force of action you have driven me 
to the obscurity of shame. When I placed into 
your hands the evidence of my father guilt, 


324 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


you gave me your word of honor that you would 
not make public use of them, hut hold them 
secretly as a prevailing agency through which to 
effect his resignation. 

“You have broken faith with me, and by 
tramping your honor in the slough you have also 
broken the other tie that bound us.’’ 

“Lucile.” 

“My God! My God! What does the girl 
mean?” exclaimed St. Clair to himself as he re- 
folded the note and walked out of the elevator. 

As he passed beneath the great dome of the 
Capitol he met an old college chum who threw 
his arm around him and exclaimed, “Old fel- 
low, your speech this afternoon has immortaliz- 
ed you and engraved your name upon the hearts 
of true Texans!” 

“Thank you. Jack, for such extravagant flat- 
tery, for there is no higher honor than that of 
gaining the love and confidence of the masses,” 
replied St. Clair, warmly. 

* ‘ Allow me in all sincerity to make this proph- 
ecy? It will not be very far in the future when 
the same people who applauded your speech to- 
day, will greet your official message with the 
same spirit — you are destined to be the governor 
of this great State.” 

“Ah, Jack! my ambition does not carry me 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


325 


toward that goal. I would rather be as I am, 
the chief of the labor scarred knights of toil, 
and give my life in lifting from them the burden 
of plutocratic oppression, than to receive the 
executive diadem.^’ 

“Yes, I know how boimdless your love is for 
the people’s cause, but as I have already ex- 
pressed myself prohpetically I ask that you re- 
member my prophecy,” replied Jack as they 
separated. 

St. Clair went direct to the hotel, and in his 
room wrote the following note to the girl who by 
her words had stung the deepest recesses of his 
heart : 

“Dear Lucile: I have read the paper you 
placed in my hands, and can not understand why 
you should doubt my honor. I am innocent 
of the charges with which you have accused me. 
Trust me now, and believe me innocent until by 
more than mere presumption I am proved guilty. 
Until then let the ties that bind us be as strong 
and closely knit as love’s pure fabric. Will call 
this evening.” 

“George.” 

Two hours later, as St. Clair’s carriage drove 
up to the Graham gate which opened upon the 
long concrete walk that led to the house, he felt 
that God had given him greater strength of 


326 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


body and soul with which to meet the grave 
issues of the hour, and from the very depths of 
his soul he seemed to hear these inspiring words ; 
‘^God shieldeth the patriot as well as armeth 
him. ^ ^ 

In a few moments he stood upon the broad 
gallery, and before the stately doors of the old 
Southern mansion. Lucile answered the door- 
bell herself, but the smile and glad welcome with 
which she had always met St. Clair had now 
given way to the coolness and marked formality 
with which she greeted him tonight. 

“George! Something awful has happened; 
something that has robbed me of my faith in 
you, leaving in my heart a bitter condemnation 
for the man who would openly and publicly 
bring reproach upon my father, whose face is 
already turned to life’s western horizon,” said 
Lucile as she occupied the chair nearest St. Clair. 

“Is it possible that my life shall never cease 
to be a target for the barbed arrows of continual 
persecution; that your confidence in my honor 
is so loosely rooted that the least angry gust 
of the enemy extracts it; that I am to be con- 
demned without a hearing, and have pain added 
to pain by hearing a cruel and unjust sentence 
from lips I love?” replied St. Clair, gravely. 

“No! You are wrong! Your enemies have 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


327 


given up all hope of tearing us apart — they are 
now relying upon my own judgment, suspecting 
that I shall sooner or later realize the folly of 
my course. You say that you are innocent of 
the charge with which I have accused you; then 
why is it that your most ardent supporter in the 
House, Col. Black, has in his possession the iden- 
tical papers I intrusted to your care — ^the pa- 
pers which prove the guilt of my father?’^ 

“Lucile, you are mistaken; the papers you 
placed with me are safely locked within my 
trunk. I assured myself of this after reading 
your note late this afternoon. Then, again. Col. 
Black has never mentioned the subject to me. 
Where did you get all this information?’’ 

“Senator Bradley heard this morning that 
Col. Black will make charges against my father 
before the House to-morrow, and that he is go- 
ing to substantiate his charges by exhibiting the 
papers spoken of.” 

“This is a deep mystery; a most perplexing 
problem. I know nothing of Col. Black’s con- 
nection with this affair. But I do know that I 
have been loyal to the trust you imposed upon 
me. I do not deserve this cold attitude you 
show toward me, but I do merit your confidence, 
your trust, and your love; the grand trinity of 
true friendship,” pleaded St. Clair. 


328 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


‘‘Will you then prove the sincerity of what 
you have just said, by going over in your car- 
riage to the hotel, and bring back to me the let- 
ters and other papers I gave you, and which you 
claim to still haveT’ 

“Yes, if you require this evidence by which 
to re-establish your faith in me, you shall have 
it,” replied St. Clair, as he passed toward the 
door. As Lucile watched the carriage drive 
away, she heard footsteps in the hall, and turn- 
ing quickly around saw before her Senator 
Bradley, Henry Priest, and her father. 

“What did that sneak want?” asked Judge 
Graham angrily as he addressed Lucile. 

“To whom do you refer?” 

“I refer to St. Clair, that cowardly villain 
who stands behind Col. Black in the charges 
to be made against me tomorrow in the House.” 

“Mr. St. Clair says that he knows nothing 
whatever of Col. Black’s action.” 

“Lucile, you have more confidence in that fel- 
low’s word than we have, for we would not even 
consider his oath, ’ ’ said Senator Bradley. 

“No, I suppose not,” answered Lucile, dis- 
dainfully, as she tossed her head haughtily to 
<Hie side. 

“No, Senator, I believe you are mistaken. I 
feel sure that Miss Graham by this time realizes 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


329 


that he not only is a stranger to truth, but an 
enemy of integrity,'’ said Priest as he turned 
and addressed Bradley. 

“Mr. Priest, I beg your pardon, sir, but you 
are the one that is mistaken. No, I believe that 
he is the very embodiment of truth and integ- 
rity. I admit that circumstances for awhile 
this afternoon placed him in a very unfavorable 
light before me, but since I have heard from 
his lips the true status of affairs, I see things 
differently and — . ” 

“Yes, I suppose you do,” interrupted Judge 
Graham. “His oily tongue has veneered his 
treachery so ingeniously that it appears before 
your credulous eyes as one of the cardinal vir- 
tues of a god.” 

“I am ashamed of myself for allowing a 
single doubt to gain ascendency in my heart. 
Mr. St. Clair claims to have in his trunk the pa- 
pers declared by you to be in the possession of 
Col. Black. In order to prove his statement, 
he has gone for them and will return in a 
short while.” 

As Lucile finished speaking, she realized her 
mistake in telling them that St. Clair would re- 
turn with the papers, for she noticed the vil- 
lainous smile that played across the Senator’s 
face, and saw the same fire in his eyes that 


330 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


shines in those of the leopard when preparing to 
spring upon an unsuspecting victim. 

‘‘We shall wait here until his return, and 
hear what he has to say for himself,’’ said Judge 
Graham as he offered chairs to his two guests. 

Lucile excused herself and left the reception 
room in which the men were sitting, and slipped 
silently out upon the gallery to watch for the 
return of the carriage — she resolved in her 
mind to meet St. Clair at the gate and warn him 
of his danger. In a short while she heard the 
clatter of horses’ hoofs, and looking up saw the 
light of the carriage as it rapidly drew near. 
Before another minute passed, she was mov- 
ing hurriedly across the lawn. 

“Lucile, here are the papers you gave me; I 
have examined the bundle and find none missing. 
I hope you will now accept them as proof of 
my loyalty to a promise, and the guarding of 
them as significant of my true and boundless 
love for you,” said St. Clair as he met Lucile 
at the gate. 

“George, forgive me again for my distrust in 
you. By this proof of your magnanimity I feel 
that I am unworthy the love of such a man. ’ ’ 

“My dear little girl, 1 did not censure you; 
I did not blame you; you have done nothing 
wrong, therefore, there is nothing for me to for- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


331 


give. The status of affairs as you saw it natur- 
ally accused me, and in your eagerness to shield 
your father against the angry blasts of the peo- 
ple ^s wrath, circumstantial evidence had the ap- 
pearance of positive proof. 

George! Senator Bradley, Mr. Priest, and 
my father are waiting your return. They are 
bitter against you, and are going to question you 
as to the papers in the custody of Col. Black. 
The Senator is very angry, and I am afraid he 
will do you bodily harm, so favor me by not 
coming to the house, but return at once.’^ 

^‘Lucile, 1 must see your father tonight or 
it will be too late to save him,’’ replied St. 
Clair, as he offered his arm to Lucile and started 
toward the house. 

‘‘Then, may God protect you and crown with 
success every effort put forward to save my 
father from the awful exposal of his crimes, 
whispered Lucile as they ascended the steps of 
the gallery. 

“St. Clair, what scheme is this through which 
you are now trying to bring disgrace and shame 
upon my life and home?” exclaimed Judge 
Graham as St. Clair and Lucile entered the re- 
ception room. 

“Judge, you accuse me unjustly — I know noth- 
ing of the charges to be brought against you 


332 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. 


in the house tomorrow. All I know is what 
Imcile has told me this evening. 

'‘^Well, I didn^t expect the truth from you 
when I asked the question.’^ 

^‘What do you mean, sir, by such arrogance 
asked St. Clair in a resentful manner. 

mean that you are the dark undercurrent 
that has influenced Col. Black to flle those 
charges against me, and to ask for an investiga- 
tion of them before the House.’’ 

^^Sir, you may consider me in any light you 
wish — I would not raise my finger for your es- 
teem. As far as you are concerned I would 
not hesitate to bring charges against you, and 
offer the evidence I have by which to substanti- 
ate them, but this would bring sorrow and dis- 
grace upon your daughter — the girl I love, and 
for her sake I offered you an avenue of escape 
if you would but resign your oiSce and retire 
to private life and — .” 

^^And you call such a pusillafiimous act as 
that, ^an avenue of escape’! It would be more 
appropriate to designate such an act as *a 
stenchy alley through which a coward skulks to 
safety” interrupted Judge Graham vehemently. 

^^Col. Black is a friend of mine, and with a 
copy of your resignation presented to him by 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


33S 


me, I feel sure I can prevail upon him to with- 
hold his charges.^’ 

God, St. Clair! Would you force this 
man from the bench upon which he has given 
the best years of his life?’^ exclaimed Priest,, 
unable to restrain himself longer. 

^‘Yes; when a man makes merchandise of an 
office of trust he should be proscribed ; he should 
receive the cold shoulder of every true, honest, 
and loyal patriot. Judge Graham has served 
you and your interests as subserviently as a 
vassal and as effectually as a pirate on the seas 
of conquest; therefore, he deserves his part of 
the spoils — your reward, and you would be an 
ingrate not to at least pension him when the 
State he has betrayed turns him from her shel- 
ter, ’ ' replied St. Clair with a smile. 

‘^If I were Judge Graham I would pay no 
attention to the charges in question. Let Black 
furnish the evidence; let the House investigate 
them, and give the Senate full rope to try the 
case. In my opinion, the Senate will find him 
not guilty, and after his exoneration the people 
will love and trust him more than ever,^^ said 
Senator Bradley dogmatically. 

“Senator, in giving that advice to Judge 
Graham you urge him onward to his ruin — a 
disgraceful political annihilation — an ignomini- 


334 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ous social oblivion/^ replied St. Clair emphati- 
cally. 

‘*The same band of moral cutthroats that 
flourished their swords in my face and yelled 
for my resignation, are now following the trail 
of Judge Graham, hungry for his scalp and anx- 
ious to cast him in the fiery furnace of their 
wrath; but like the Hebrew knights of antique 
fame, true and loyal to their God, he will pass 
from the flames of jealousy and hatred without 
the scent of fire or smoke upon his ermine, an- 
swered Bradley. 

While he may, like yourself, escape the fa- 
tality of the flame and the stench of fire and 
smoke, yet again like you, the scent of white- 
wash and coal oil may be so very strong that 
they will smell through the crust of exonerative 
enamel,’^ replied St. Clair in a sarcastic tone. 

'^Senator, you were right in what you said a 
moment ago, I shall pay no attention to them. 
Now, you wretch, go to your hireling. Col. Black, 
and tell him to open fire — ^he will find an im- 
pregnable foe to laugh his folly to scorn cried 
Judge Graham angrily as he rose from his chair. 

“No, I will not carry your message to Col. 
Black. I will not see him tomorrow as I shall be 
absent from the House. For the sake of Lucile 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 335 

I have tried to spare you the blow, which when 
struck, will crush you forever.” 

“But like a mighty truth crushed to earth; I 
will rise again to slay the devil that struck me, 
and his own blood shall be the price of my ruined 
life.” 

“Father! Father! Can you not see before 
you the great cataract toward which you are 
drifting? Do you not hear the deathly roar of 
the awful rapids, which, unless you change your 
course tonight, will hurl you to your death? Why 
do you by stubborn persistence and bold defi- 
ance invite calamity upon your life — ^your name 
— your honor ? For the sake of all these ; for the 
sake of the House of Graham and your own 
daughter, write out your resignation tonight!” 
cried Lucile passionately. 

“No, not for your sake would I make a sac- 
rifice like that, for it was your hand that pushed 
me into the abyss of hell — into the ranks of my 
enemies. It is you, not I, who is bringing re- 
proach upon this house, and the furrows of 
shame upon my brow. You began this evil when 
you gave my private letters to that scoundrel,” 
replied the Judge as he pointed his finger at 
St. Clair. 

“Father, when I gave St. Clair the letters 
that told the story of your several crimes 


336 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


against your country, it was for no other pur- 
pose than to use them in forcing your resigna- 
tion, for I sadly knew that you had so prosti- 
tuted your office as to make of it an underground 
commercial tunnel through which contriving 
monopolites operated against the weal of the peo- 
ple, and I fully believed that you would continue 
to make your office an agency of traffic. It was 
because of my love for you as well as for my 
country, that I took this initiative step to bring 
about your resignation.’’ 

‘ ‘ A child ’s love for a father is not very highly 
developed when she places his private corres- 
pondence in the hands of an enemy with which 
to prove bribery charges against him, ’ ’ answered 
Judge Graham. 

Judge, as I have said before, I know nothing 
of the charges to be brought by Col. Black, and 
if he has any letters of yours by which to verify 
them, he has obtained them without my knowl- 
edge, and from a source I know nothing of,” 
said St. Clair. 

‘‘You are lying about your connection with 
this affair — you are at the bottom of this con- 
spiracy to ruin me, simply because I denied 
you my daughter’s hand,” replied Graham 
harshly. 

“Judge, I have explained this to my perfect 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


337 


satisfaction, if not to yonrs. I shall listen no 
longer to your bitter insults,^’ said St. Clair as 
he left the room with Lueile, and passed out 
upon the broad portico. 

George, is there nothing that can be done 
to check Col. Black’s move tomorrow and save 
my father.” 

”My darling, there is nothing under heaven 
that can now save him, except his resignation, 
for with a copy of that in my hands I might be 
able to prevail upon Col. Black to withhold the 
charges, but as your father refuses to do this, 
he must suffer the consequences.” 

”Oh how awful it is sometimes to meet the 
inevitable! Oh how hitter is this draught of 
sorrow!” cried Lueile as she dropped her head 
upon St. Clair’s shoulder and sobbed with a 
broken heart. 

‘ * Lueile, you must be brave and force yourself 
to endure the awful trial ahead of you,” said 
St. Clair, as he lifted her head gently from his 
shoulder, and kissed her trembling lips. 


•'Give Borrow words: the grief that does not speak 
Whispers the o’erfraught heart, and bids it 
break." 


:^38 the noblest roman. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 



FTER Lucile and St. Clair left the 
room in which the three men were 
^ g/ sitting, Judge Graham, with a 
troubled look upon his face, tum- 
ed to the Senator and said : 


‘‘Bradley, this is to be a stubborn fight, and I 
shall depend upon you to help pull me through.” 

For a moment Bradley gazed seriously toward 
the floor, then pushing his fingers through the 
long brown hair that fell upon his majestic fore- 
head, replied, ‘ ‘ My dear Graham, nothing would 
give me more happiness than to remain here and 
give you succor at this time, but as I have for 
the past several weeks been away from my desk 
in the Senate, I must leave on to-night’s train 
for Washington — .” 

‘ What ! You don ’t mean that ! ’ ’ interrupted 
^udge Graham as a pallor overspread his face. 
“Is it true that you — ^you who for years I 
thought my friend — ^you to whom I have given 
the flower of my manhood, are to leave me 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


339 


helpless before the unmerciful pack of dogs who 
are eager to tear my flesh and lap my blood t*' 

*‘If I could stay here another week, I would 
do so, but my presence in Washington at this 
time is a necessity. Bills are now pending in 
the Senate that must be defeated at all hazards. 
The Gigantic Oil concerns are making a bold 
flght; the foundations of the Sugar Trust are 
trembling; the Beef Monopoly, great as it is, 
is being knifed, and I must rush to the rescue, 
for I am the only senator on the Democratic 
side that can wield effectual influence over my 
party colleagues.^’ 

“So spake the fiend, and with necessity, 

The tyrant’s plea, excused his devilish deeds.” 

'‘Yes, Judge, Bradley must go at once to 
Washington, as our interests demand his pres- 
ence,” said Priest, with the authority of a 
master. 

“Yes, but my interests — my life — my honor— 
my all, cries for help across the billows of en- 
mity — over reefs of political destruction. I am 
refused as much as a hand to throw me a life 
line.” 

“No, Judge, you are wrong!” exclaimed 
Priest. “While I can not openly defend you, 
I will give you the same assistance I gave Sen- 


340 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


ator Bradley during his fight. I will give you 
money with which to fight those charges.’* 

^‘My God, Priest ! What can I do with money t 
To use it in clearing my name of crimes would 
only deepen the sea and add weight to the mill- 
stone.” 

‘‘Judge, I will arrange for the distribution of 
the money,” answered Priest. Senator Bradley 
and I have an engagement with Kennel at eleven 
o’clock tonight in my private car. I shall place 
sufficient funds in his hands with which to de- 
fend you against the charges of Col. Black. 
Kennell is a crooked devil, but for a work like 
this, it takes a fellow who knows the crooked 
ways.” 

“Priest, in doing this, you place a strong ar- 
tillery in the fortifications of my defnse, but as 
I have served you faithfully I deserve it. In the 
past I placed my honor — a priceless stake, in the 
jack-pot of your commercial games. I became 
your political conjurer that you might reap the 
fruits of my tricks, therefore I merit every ef- 
fort you may put forth to save me at this time 
— ^the awful crisis of my life.” 

As Judge Graham finished speaking, he took 
his eyes off Priest, and concentrated them upon 
Bradley. “Senator, I stood by you for years 
like a brother. I bared my breast to the mis- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


341 


siles of your enemies, and with strong arm I 
fought in your defense. During your late in- 
vestigation by the Legislature, I toiled night and 
day in my endeavor to save your name from re- 
proach. I freed you from the net of the fowler, 
only to find myself ensnared. But you, engross- 
ed in all your vain thoughts, find time only for 
your own vindication, and for godlike poses be- 
fore the admiring eyes of women. ’ ’ 

‘‘Judge, by the skin of my teeth I was cleared 
and exonerated of the criminal charges against 
me, and should I, in the face of the plain im- 
pregnable evidence to be brought against you, 
become the champion of your cause and enter the 
arena in your defense, such an act would bring 
down infamy upon my head from those who be- 
lieved in my innocence and sincerely trusted me. 
No, Judge, I must not endanger myself by mix- 
ing up in this affair. Burnt fingers are afraid 
of fire, and God knows the awful fiames through 
which they passed, said Senator Bradley as 
he rose to his feet. 

‘ ‘ I tell you there is already infamy upon your 
browj it has broken forth as a pest from the 
slime of your heart ! Now and forever, the bond 
of friendship which for years held us together, 
is broken — the tie of love severed. Upon your 
head rests my curse. If I triumph over my 


342 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


enemies in this their warfare of hell, I shall for- 
get that such a despicable character as you ever 
lived. But should I become their vanquished 
foe, not an easy breath shall I draw until I 
have encompassed your ruin and caused you to 
drink the draught I drank — the dregs of bit- 
ter retaliation,” threatened Judge Graham. 

“What do I care for your friendship — it has 
been to me only an instrument in traffic. What 
do I care for your love — I have used it merely 
as ^ buoy to support my head above the crest 
of angry waves. What do I care for your curse 
— it is nothing more than the blast of a malig- 
nant tongue. You have acted a fool’s part in 
preserving records of your many crimes, and 
especially in the loose way you guarded them.” 

“You wretch! You tyrant! You impostor! 
Within whose breast beats an adamant heart! 
I was once a man^ — a man without a price. I 
was once the father in a home — a home without 
a shadow. I was once a citizen— a citizen with- 
out shame. I was once an honored judge — a 
judge without guile. I was once a Christian — 
a Christian without hypocrisy. But you — ^you 
the evil genius of my life ; for a while the char- 
mer of my soul ; then the parasite of my heart ; 
then the preying leopard upon my path ; at last 
the stinging viper within my bosom, have chang- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


343 


ed the noble attributes of my character — attrib- 
utes which in the concrete became the glowing 
light of my life. But now at the termination 
of life’s pathway — at the verge of the grave — at 
the portals of eternity, there is nothing left but 
an ignominious mass — the ruins of a life which 
at one time was glorious and grand. I can 
not settle with you now; but when we are face 
to face in the flames of hell; when a burning 
soul thirsts for vengeance, then will I meet you 
man to man — devil to devil. Then will I quench 
the flames with your blood and rise victorious 
over as damnable apostate as ever weilded the 
sceptre of a tyrant.” For a moment Bradley 
looked with contempt into the face of Judge 
Graham, then opened the door, and with Priest^ 
passed silently out. 


“Lashed furious by destiny severe, 

The ship hangs hovering on the verge of deaths 
Hell yawns, rocks rise, and breakers roar be- 
neath!" 


344 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


“Where is he, the champion and the child 
Of all that's great or little, wise or wild? 

Whose game was empires, and whose stakes were 
thrones. 

Whose table earth — whose dice were humaa 
bones?" 



ENATOR BRADLEY arrived 
in Washington the night before, 
and was now being driven to the 
great Federal Capitol, which was 
once the people’s sacred oracle — ^now the throne 
of corporate power. His thoughts were all cen- 
tered upon the grand moment, which with each 
revolution of the carriage wheels was drawing 
nearer — the moment when he would enter the 
portals of the Senate chamber amid the united 
and deafening applause of the entire body of 
Republican and Democratic senators. He pic- 
tured himself as the great Napoleon returning 
from the fields of conquest to receive the em- 
brace and homage of the Grand Assembly! No 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


345 


picture of Wellington rose in the background 
to blanch bis cheeks; no Elbe to terrorize his 
heart ; no roaring waves of St. Helena to destroy 
his thoughts of throne and crown. He saw be- 
fore him the consummation of his avaricious de- 
sires and with gladness of heart beheld the op- 
posing forces — the thwarted hopes and plans of 
his enemies, the common people — ^the brain and 
sinew of the nation. Oh how vain are the 
thoughts of the ambitious — how buoyant their 
hopes — how uncertain their goal; how like the 
unfolding petals of a flower bud with the blith- 
ing worm nestled at its heart, tainting the rudi- 
ments of the promised flower. 

As Senator Bradley stepped from the elevator 
that carried him to the floor of the Senate, he 
was met my his master. Senator Aldrich, and 
leaning upon his arm entered the Senate cham- 
ber. To his great consternation the democratic 
side observed him in silence, while a weak ap- 
plause greeted him from the republican ranks. 
Senator Cullenson, the other Senator from 
Texas, a brave and noble warrior of the civic 
battlefield, bowed his head in humiliation upon 
his desk as Senator Bradley walked down the 
aisle by the side of the notorious political-cut- 
throat and arch-pirate of commerce. With sad- 
ness he saw his colleague of State and party be- 


346 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


come the nucleus around which gathered the 
leprous elements of Congress — ^the incarnation 
of taint and shame; he saw his beloved State 
in legislative balance, the interests of the peo- 
ple in one scale, while in the other he beheld the 
awful force of their oppression, and gazed sadly 
upon the equilibrium. A move must be made — 
a blow must be struck; a moment must not be 
lost, for the honor of Texas is at stake — ^thc 
State who in the glorious history of her past, 
stood supremely upon the battlefield and won 
the sacred heritage of liberty at an awful cost 
— ^the price of “mountains of slain and rivers of 
blood. 

“Mr. President and Fellow Colleagues: I 
present to this body a message from the people 
of Texas,” said Senator Cullenson as he rose to 
the floor. “A petition from a majority of her 
voters asking that you hear their prayer for re- 
lief and acquiesce in their plea.” The petition 
had reached the President ’s desk and the reading 
clerk was now preparing to read its preamble, 
in which was alleged charges of bribery against 
Senator Bradley, and their w^hitewash by the in- 
vestigating committee. It also enumerated the 
charges and referred to the accompanying evi- 
dence by which to substantiate them, and then 
concluded by asking for the expulsion of Sena- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


347 


tor Bradley from his seat in the Senate. 

A loud applause greeted the reading of the 
preamble. As the charges were being read, Sen- 
ator Bradley’s face flushed with anger, and lurid 
fire seemed to leap from his eyes, but before the 
clerk had finished the lengthy preambulation, 
the scarlet glow of anger gave place to a fearful 
paleness as the once irritable senator sat fixed 
and rigid like a god chiselled from marble. 

He now realized the awful strength of the oc- 
cult power which was sweeping destructively 
over him like that which rides unseen in the 
tornado’s chariot, propelling it onward upon a 
path of devastitation. Senator Bradley watched 
his opportunity and when it came he sprang to 
his feet like a ferocious tiger, and with breathing 
thoughts and burning words reproached his ene- 
mies as cowardly curs — as dogs that had brok- 
en loose from their kennel chains and were 
hungry for princely flesh.” 

For two days the Senate chamber was a seeth- 
ing hell — a sea of flame that roared and hissed. 
Two antagonistic elements met and were battling 
for supremacy. Bradley and the classes were 
clutching at the throats of CuUenson and the 
masses. A committee to investigate the charges 
was appointed and after a week of deliberation 
and a strenuous fight for principle, announced 


348 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


that their task was ended. The chairman had 
taken the floor to make his report — all was still 
and quiet save the loud beating of hearts that 
throbbed wildly within the bosoms of anxious 
senators. 

All eyes were upon the lips of the chairman; 
all ears were strained to hear the verdict which 
was to either clothe a mortal life with robes of 
spotless white or with those of blackness and 
derision. 

‘‘We the investigating committee find Senator 
Bradley guilty of the bribery charges preferred 
against him and recommend to this body that 
he be expelled from the Senate and his seat de- 
clared vacant/^ were the concluding words of 
the chairman ^s report. A volcano vomiting 
forth its molten matter and sending its smoke 
and flames to the sky would have caused no 
greater sensation than the verdict of the com- 
mittee. Senator Aldrich made a strong appeal 
in behalf of Bradley, which was followed by 
speeches of like sentiment from other noted re- 
publican leaders of the Senate, while the demo- 
cratic side rose in rebuttal, exerting every effort 
to drive a Catiline from their midst; a male- 
factor “who had acuteness suited to crime; and 
whose tongue nor hand never failed to support 
that acuteness.’’ All day long the battle raged; 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


349 


fierce imprecations filled the air, and the Devil 
humiliated, blushed with shame when he found 
himself the leader of such a base minority. The 
session continued into the night, and at twelve 
o’clock the vote was taken which resulted in ac- 
cepting the committee’s report together with its 
recommendations. 

When the President of the Senate announced 
the decision, a deathly pallor fell over Bradley’s 
face as he felt himself fall from the heights of 
potency to the depths of moral nihility. He saw 
himself abandoned by the best of his former 
colleagues; he saw his sceptre depart from him 
like an arrow speeding from the bow of a Tartar 
For a while he gazed meditatively into the faces 
of those who had encompassed his ruin, then 
burying his face in his hands muttered inaudibly, 
‘‘My God! My God! How bitter this retribu- 
tion ! Oh how it stings the heart and conscience 
like sin lacerates the soul. It is the law of nature 
that ‘whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
also reap ; ’ I have sown the seed from the gran- 
aries of hell and to my sorrow and remorse must 
gamer the harvest of thorns and nettles.” 

Rising slowly to his feet he moved down the 
aisle toward the door; then pausing, he turned 
and looked back upon the desk he had left 


350 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


The place around which so many pleasant mem- 
ories clung; 

The post of honor upon which so many laurels 
hung. 

But, oh, how tom and withered they were 
now ; how like a badge of shame they told of aw- 
ful deeds; how the corporate spider wove his 
entangling web around the prostitute Senator. 
After lifting his eyes for a farewell look upon 
the seat of so much political debauchery, he 
passed through the door of the Senate chamber 
never to enter again. 


“So let him stand, through ages yet unborn, 
Fix’d statue on the pedestal of scorn!’* 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


351 


CHAPTER XX. 


“Regard their hellish fall, 

Whose fiendful fortune may exhort the wise 
Only to wonder at unlawful things.” 



FTER a strenuous two- week’s fight 
in Judge Graham’s impeachment 
trial, he was found guilty of the 
several charges against him and 
expelled from the State’s judiciary. The haughty 
head of the usurper fell languidly upon his 
breast as he heard the decree of justice, like a 
thunderbolt, tear away the gold of his life, leav- 
ing nothing but a mould of mortal dross to shame 
a line of proud posterity. For two long weeks 
Lucile attended the trial of her father, and ex- 
erted every effort within the power of a noble 
woman to shield his gray hairs from the doom 
that was gathering like a dark cloud over him, 
but her struggles were in vain; the undeniable 
evidence was convicting, and with tearful eyes 
and veiled face she listened to the stern sentence 
of expulsion passed upon him. During the trial, 


352 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. 


St. Clair was constantly at Lncile’s side, assist- 
ing the poor heart-broken girl in the fight for 
her father’s honor, bnt sympathy engendered 
for the heroine of the trial could not impede 
the advancement of justice. 

^^Lucile, I have at last discovered the source 
and undercurrent of that fight against your 
father,” said St. Clair the night after the trial. 
*^Col. Black is the unconscious instrument in 
the hands of a scoundrel, who in order to feed 
the fires of his hatred for you, and that he might 
satisfy the hunger of revenge, is willing to put 
a stigma upon the life of your father, in a 
delirious struggle to darken your brow with 
painful humiliation.” 

^^Who is the grave-digging hyena?” asked 
Lucile, angrily. 

^^John Priest has furnished Kennell with the 
evidence taken from the file books of the Brooks- 
Priest Oil Company, and with it they made a 
mere tool of the honest and patriotic Black.” 

‘ * GeorgCj we realize with shame that my father 
has been an indispensable property of the 
Brooks-Priest Oil Company; we know how he 
stood at the battery of government, and operat- 
ed the prodigious machinery that generated a 
power that vitalized the tentacles of that dire 
monopoly — the corporate octopus; but in the 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


353 


face of all these facts, I can not see why John 
Priest would exert a single effort to bring re- 
proach upon a man who has so faithfully served 
his interests/^ 

“My dear, John Priest would give millions for 
the satisfaction of wounding your heart and filL 
ing your soul with grief ; his wealth in the aggre^ 
gate would bring him no more pleasure than to 
see you disgraced and writhing in the torture of 
mental agony/ ^ 

“How low that man Kennell has fallen; his 
soul is but merchandise in the hands of base 
auctioneers, their implement of political scav- 
agery. Oh, when will this traffic in the souls 
of men cease? When will the hud of manhood 
unfold its petals in the grace of civic purity, 
and beautify the portals of polity with its bloom, 
filling its corridors with the breath of justice/^ 

“My darling, while your father’s great down- 
fall has filled your life with bitter sorrow, as a cup 
overflowing with the waters of Mar ah, yet you 
must not close your eyes to the bright lining 
of the dark cloud, but rise like a strong woman 
to encourage and arm with confidence the brave 
warriors of a holy cause. The barricades of 
monopoly are being rived, and now is the time 
to strike for all we hold dear and sacred; now 
is the time to push our forces forward and scat- 


354 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ter the enemy like autumn leaves in a rushing 
wind/’ 

“George, you are right; we have reached a 
crisis in the history of Texas. Behind us glide 
the waters of the Rubicon; before us stretches 
the field of battle, and may God grant that it 
be to us a field of conquest from which will rise 
again the crowning glory of the nation — the 
grand and holy supremacy of our sons of toil,” 
said Lucile after a few moments of deep reflec- 
tion. 

“Truth and Justice are the two great bat- 
teries that give power to our cause, and by it 
we shall conquer, for it is the power of Heaven 
— the paramount attributes of God. Your fa- 
ther’s antagonism to the rights of the people 
cost him an office of trust and honor. Senator 
Bradley’s perfidy cost him a country’s love and 
heaped upon him its scorn and hatred. These 
fallen idols of political worship mark the begin- 
ning of an eventful era in the history of our 
State. The pompus columns of plutocratic 
temples are trembling; their foundations are 
crumbling, and the veil of their respective throne 
rooms are being rent asunder, as the sceptre is 
departing from their dominions,” answered St. 
Clair. » 

^‘I heard that the grand jury returned an. in- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


355 


dictment today against Henry Priest for per- 
jury.'' 

‘‘Yes, and he will be the next to feel the lash 
of Justice and the righteous indignation of the 
people. I shall take great interest in his trial 
and await with impatience the verdict of the 
jury." 

“George, the name of Henry Priest strikes 
terror to my heart, and fills my soul with bit- 
terness against that man. He and Senator Brad- 
ley were the undermining forces of my father's 
character and the debauchers of his manhood. 
I can not think of them as human beings with 
the breath of God in their nostrils, and the spirit 
of immortality within their breasts, but as mon- 
sters, merciless in their greed, and pitiless in 
their cold, inhuman passions, ’ ' said Lucile sadly. 

“Their code of honor is only a book of blank 
pages smeared with the indelible stains of crime, 
while their secret code of commercialism is but 
a volume containing the names of renegades, and 
the evidence of ruin and oppression. When your 
father realized that he was lost, he found him- 
self deserted by the very men whose dishonesty 
and avariciousness brought the curse of the peo- 
ple upon his head, ' ' replied George indignantly. 

“It uiay be wrong to pray for the retribution 
of a just God to blast the souls of such men, 


356 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


but my thoughts breathe to Heayen that prayer, 
and may God have mercy upon the tongue that 
utters it,” said Lucile with trembling lips, as 
George left the house that night. 


‘Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, 
Nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned.’* 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


357 


CHAPTER XXI. 



‘And round the Champion’s brows was bound 
The crown that the people had wound.” 

HE Governor was elected to the 
United States Senate by the Leg- 
islature to fill the unexpired term 
of Senator Bradley. On the same 
day the President of the Senate was appointed 
by the Governor to fill the vacancy in the Judi- 
ciary caused by Judge Graham’s expulsion. This 
peculiar status of affairs necessitated the im- 
mediate call for a special election to fill the va- 
cancies that would occur in the respective offices 
of Governor and Lieutenant Governor. Great 
excitement prevailed throughout Texas over 
these appointments, as they threw the State into 
the heat of another strenuous campaign. The 
wheels of the various political machines began to 
revolve again. Kennel was overhauling his coat 
of mail so as to be ready at a moment’s call 
to sell his services as political trickster to the 
highest bidder. 

The secretary of “The Knights of the Labor- 


358 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


ing Clan/’ by the authority of the Exalted 
Knight, called an immediate rally at Austin of 
all the clans over the State, that they might 
put out a candidate for Governor who would pro- 
tect and advance their cause. The convention 
was largely attended, and within an hour after 
it convened a nominating committee was ap- 
pointed to select candidates for Governor and 
submit them to a vote of the convention. At the 
expiration of another hour the committee re- 
turned to the hall to make their report. All was 
silent as the chairman of the committee rose. 

•^‘Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Con- 
vention : We present to this assembly the name 
of one who for years has fought valliantly for 
our cause — the uplift of struggling thousands; 
one who has been faithful to every trust imposed 
upon him, and loyal to every principle that dom- 
inates our clan. We present the name of our 
Exalted Knight, George St. Clair as the chosen 
standard bearer of the laboring people of 
Texas. ’ ’ 

At the mention of this name the whole conven- 
tion went mad, lost their heads, threw their hats 
into the air and shouted the name of their leader 
with an enthusiasm that sent renewed patriotism 
tingling in every nerve; their manifestation of 
love and loyalty was but little less than deifica- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


359 


tion itself. The vote was soon taken and George 
St. Clair was unanimously chosen the guberna- 
torial candidate of the Federation of Laboring 
Clans. 

In presenting St. Clair to the convention, the 
Chairman spoke as follows : “In past ages when 
leaders of the Crusade unfolded their battle- 
flags and led a host to battle, the occult power 
that drove them into the fray, through the smoke 
of conflict to the goal of victory and peace, was 
the inspiration of a righteous cause. With our 
slogan of battle, ‘For God and Home and Coun- 
try,^ the Laboring Clans of Texas rally today 
around the standard of their peerless leader, and 
with beating hearts and strong convictions enter 
the fray for political and commercial supremacy. 
We herald you as the Knight of Texas chivalry 
— a chivalry that is broad enough to embrace 
the homes and firesides of down- trodden men; 
we herald you as the Chieftain of a great clan 
— a clan of home defenders and country build- 
ers; we herald you as the laurel-crowned Wel- 
lington of next month’s Waterloo — a Waterloo 
where oppressive Monopoly will be vanquished 
forever. We feel that the unseen hand of God 
is leading a mighty host to victory, and that 
when the dust and smoke of battle have cleared 
away, we shall hear the applause given our re- 


360 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


turning Chieftain as he enters in triumph the 
Capital City of our State. 

have the pleasure of presenting to you the 
Honorable George St. Clair, the next Governor 
of Texas.” 

After a speech that touched the most stony 
heart and imbued his hearers with that righteous 
patriotism which strengthens the love of country 
and feeds the sacrificial spirit within the breasts 
of men, George St. Clair took his seat, and with 
deepest emotion saw the grand demonstration of 
the people as they received his address. 

The convention took a recess until three 
o’clock in the afternoon, and after St. Clair had 
received the personal congratulations of his 
many friends and political admirers, he entered a 
carriage and drove to the Graham home in or- 
der to be the first to tell the woman he loved 
of the honors so lately placed upon him. For 
a few minutes Lucile looked into the face of St. 
Clair — the emotions within her soul had mas- 
tered the faculties of speech. The pride and 
happiness of her life was manifested in the 
tears that gushed from eyes beaming with joy, 
then together they gazed silently into the future, 
radiant with love and honor. 

“Great thoughts, great feelings, came to them. 
Like instincts, unawares.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


361 


CHAPTER XXII. 


“They that stand high, have many blasts to shake 
them; 

And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.^ 



FTER two weeks of patient hear- 


p ing in the perjury trail af Henry 
' Priest, the jury returned a ver- 
dict of guilty and assessed his 


punishment at five years in the State Penitenti- 
ary. When the words of doom fell from the 
foreman's lips a woman turned in her chair 
and threw her arms around the prisoner like 
the vine that twines its gentle tendrils around 
the fallen oak — she was the wife of Henry 
Priest. Throughout the trial she occupied a 
chair by his side and listened attentively to 
the evidence of the State’s witnesses, and with 
fearful apprehension heard the testimony that 
was to tear her husband from her and consign 
him for a term of years behind the gloomy 
walls of a prison. One of the prominent attri- 


362 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


butes of woman is that she is strongest in the 
hour of adversity; that she is bravest in the 
time of danger, and more resolute and power- 
ful when facing fearful odds. 

Appeal after appeal was made, but in each 
instance the decision of the lower court was af- 
firmed. Despair and Hope battled within the 
breast of the faithful wife, but hope gained 
the ascendency when, with the attorneys for the 
defence, she went into the presence of the Gov- 
ernor to present her petition for a pardon. A 
wife’s tender and heart-rending appeal was to 
be the finesse of the last struggle of this legal 
battle for the liberty of Plutocracy’s king. 
Would the Governor weigh the pride of the 
prisoner in the perfectly poised scales of 
Justice? Would he add the weights of social 
caste against the dignity of the State’s law and 
her people ’s safety ? 

The retiring Governor paid chivalrous atten- 
tion to the wife’s earnest pleadings, but felt 
that the inherent duty of his oflSce forbade an 
interference and demanded the enforcement of 
the Court’s decree. 

While it is true the Governor has the 
pardoning power, he should place that preroga- 
tive in the hands of Justice and obey the man- 
dates of its custodian, therefore, I must sub- 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


363 


due my feelings in this matter and let the law 
take its course/’ said the Governor at the con- 
clusion of the conference with Mrs. Priest. 

But these words so full of despair did not 
weaken the spirit within the breast of the wife, 
but nerved her to exert every effort to save her 
husband. Her unbounded affection mingled 
with the eloquence of a sorrowing heart, brought 
tears to the eyes of the Governor when he told 
her again that he must stand firmly by the 
decision of the Court. George St. Clair, the 
Governor elect, whose inauguration was to take 
place the next week, would give the brave woman 
another chance to appeal for executive clemen- 
cy, but this hope in her heart dickered only as 
a dying fiame, for the new Governor who was 
to take the oath of office at that time had spent 
the last few years in legal frays against her 
husband and his powerful interests. But in the 
face of these odds, she was determined ti‘ make 
a bold fight and win if she could the one desire 
ol her life — her husband’s freedom. The day 
of the inauguration arrived and the lower fioor 
of the House of Represeneatives was packed 
with members of the Legislature, their wives 
and friends, while the gallery, jammed to its 
uttermost capacity, seemed like a consolidated 
mass of humanity. 


364 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


Throughout the State the laboring people 
:had set apart this date as a holiday in honor of 
their Exalted Knight who had risen to highest 
office within the gift of the people of Texas, and 
who, as a brave leader had struck effectual blows 
against encroaching Monopoly as it trespassed 
upon the sacred rights of the laborer. The 
great parade that had been planned, started 
from the foot of Congress Avenue, headed by 
the mounted police force of the city, after which 
eame the band with its inspiring and soul-stir- 
ring music. Drawn by four white horses came 
the carriage in which sat George St. Clair, 
Lucile Graham, the retiring Governor and his 
wife. Following marched the several la- 
bor organizations, fire companies, and various 
fraternal societies. Amid the booming of can- 
non, the flourish of trumpets, the clash of 
nymbals, and the rolling of drums, the parade 
entered the Capitol grounds and proceeded to 
the House of Representatives. 

After taking the oath of office, St. Clair 
pressed his lips to the Bible and kissed the 
following prophetic verse: “He that dwelleth 
in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide 
under the shadow of the Almighty.^’ As he 
rose to deliver his inaugural address the ap- 
plause that greetd him manifested the deep 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. SGS 

affection of his people. Turning to Lucile, who 
sat at the right of the platform, he bowed in 
acknowledgment of the people salutation — 
he bowed to her whose pure and noble life was 
the propelling force along the path of prowess 
to the high pinnacle of honor he now attained. 
This tribute to the woman who that evening 
would become his wife, touched the heartstings 
of the great multitude and brought forth re- 
newed applause. For an hour the great patriot 
outlined the policies that were to dominate his 
administration as Governor of Texas ; Iftien 
turning his eyes toward the gallery he appealed 
to the masses for their united strength to as- 
sist him in establishing forever the rule of 
the people, and in conclusion said: 

“Using the words of the Father of our Coun^ 
try, hope I shall always possess firmness and 
virtue enough to maintain, what I consider 
the most enviable of all titles, the character of 
an honest man.’^ As Governor St. Clair took 
his seat, the band broke forth with the strains 
of ‘Hail to the Chief,’ while a great sea of 
humanity moved to grasp his hand and feel 

“An undefined and sudden thrill, 

Which makes the heart a moment still.“ 


:366 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


“Look down, you gods, 

And on this couple drop a blessed crown.” 



“HOW strange it seems that we 
should be here — ^how like a fairy 
dream/ ^ said Lucile as she pas- 
sed with her husband through 
the stately doors of the Governor's Mansion an 
hour after their marriage. 

“This has been the greatest day of my life — 
inaugurated Governor of the greatest State in 
the Union and married to the dearest woman in 
the world/’ answered St. Clair as he drew his 
wife in his arms and kissed her. 

“I feel that the purpose of God in giving you 
the Governorship of Texas is that you may 
prove yourself a Moses and lead his people from 
thraldom/’ replied Lucile as she looked proudly 
into the face of her husband. 

“Then God being my witness I renew the 
TOWS made to my people, and heart and hand 
shall not fail to execute them. The first op- 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. 


367 


pressor of the poor and helpless that falls into 
my hands shall be made an example and pun- 
ished according to the laws of our State. ’ * 

George, this reminds me of the letter I re- 
ceived from Mrs. Priest immediately following 
your inauguration today, in which she pleads 
with me to use my influence with you for her 
husband’s freedom. Her pathetic words 
touched my heart. She will call here at the 
Mansion tomorrow morning and I have prom- 
ised to be present during her talk with you. 
As this has been the happiest day of our lives, 
let’s celebrate all that it has brought us, by 
bringing joy to her broken heart and by dispel- 
ling the cloud that rests tonight over her home. ’ ’ 
I hate to refuse this first request of my noble 
wife — a request that springs from the source 
of a true woman’s love, but for years this 
criminal Plutocrat has defied the laws of our 
land and in his madness for pelf trampled 
Justice into the dust, consequently our prisons 
are now full of poor unfortunates .who are serv- 
ing out their sentences for crimes to which 
they were driven by the desperation of poverty 
caused by the dominating power of merciless 
monopolites. The creed of my administration 
shall be justice to the oppressor and mercy to 
the oppressed, therefore I sadly await the mor- 


368 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


row when a sorrowing woman must leave this 
place without hope or comfort/* said St. Clair. 

‘ * Then the poor woman is to be torn from her 
husband for five long sad years/* sighed Lucile 
as she brushed a big tear from her cheek. 

^‘My dear, the majesty of the law has spoken, 
and its decree must be obeyed, but let us not 
discuss this question tonight, but for awhile 
forget that joy has its sorrows, and sweet its 
bitter. ’ * 

#«**#*«* 

“My dear Mrs. Priest, I am sorry that I can 
not grant the boon you ask. I have listened to 
your brave appeal until all the sympathy of my 
nature has been aroused; until I have felt the 
same heart pains that throb within your own 
breast,’* said St. Clair after an hour’s confer- 
ence with the wife Of Henry Priest. 

“No Governor, you do not feel the keen 
anguish that cuts my heart like a knife; you 
have never fathomed the greatest depths of 
woman’s love; you have never suffered the bit- 
terness of sorrow that now fills my life, or 
you would give mercy precedence over justice 
as you see it, and brighten our darkened home,” 
replied Mrs. Priest passionately. 

‘ ‘ My dear woman, I do know the awful pangs 
this sentence upon your husband brings to you 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


369 


but even a Governor must live and act within 
the limitations of the law, and as I am bound 
by oath of office and allegiance to my people, 

I must not turn loose a man who has for years 
been a hard taskmaster over thousands of the 
poor of this State.” 

“For another hour the poor woman pled for 
her husband, but the Governor was firm and 
unrelenting. 

Crossing the room, Mrs. Priest embraced Lu- 
cile and wept tears of a broken heart upon her 
shoulder. After awhile she raised her head and 
fixed her eyes upon Lucile — her last appeal was 
now to be made; not to a cold and stern court 
of law, but to an exalted tribunal — the sacred 
trinity composed of woman’s love, sympathy,, 
and affection. No sooner had her eyes rested: 
upon the face of the Governor’s wife, then with 
a cry of astonishment she seized the locket 
hanging from Lucile ’s neck and read the inscrip- ^ 
tion upon it. 

“The locket! The locket! Where did you 
get it? Speak and tell me all!” 

St. Clair turned pale, and with bated breath 
sat motionless as Lucile told in a few words 
the history of the locket, how it was found 
upon the neck of a baby that was taken to a 
New York orphanage by a nurse who claimed 


310 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


have found the child upon the streets; how 
Senator Bradley and his wife adopted the baby 
and brought him to Texas; how he grew into 
manhood and is now the Governor of this State. 
Before Lucile had finished her story, the woman 
^rang from her embrace and rushing to where 
the Governor was sitting, threw her arms pas- 
aibnately around his neck. 

^My child ! My child ! My own darling boy, 
1 have found you at last. My God, my God, I 
thank Thee, I thank Thee for giving to me 
again my child ! ’ ^ cried the happy mother as she 
hugged her big boy over and over again. 

St. Clair soon recovered from his bewilder- 
ment and dropping his head upon the bosom 
of his new-found-mother, wept for joy. A few 
minutes passed in this embrace, then drawing 
his wife and mother together in his arms, look- 
up with a smile — a smile that spoke more elo- 
quently than the silver tongue — St. Clair had 
found his mother. 

can not speak, tears so obstruct my words 
And choke me with unutterable joy.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


371 


CHAPTER XIV. 


“The eagle’s fate and mine are one. 

Which on the shaft that made him die, 
Espied a feather of his own, 

Wherewith he wont to soar so high.” 



OLLOWING the strange revela- 
tion that brought her long lost 
child to her, Mrs. Priest was 
driven in a closed carriage to the 
jail to communicate to her husband the glad 
news. When she met him she fell into his arms 
crying, 

^‘Our baby is found! Our baby is found!'' 

“My God! My God! What do you mean!" 
exclaimed Priest distractedly. 

“Our baby was not drowned — he is alive — 
he is here." 

“Where! Where!" cried Priest frantically 
as he tore himself from his wife. 

“George St. Clair, the Governor of Texas, 
is our own boy — our poor lost baby. ' ' 

Henry Priest 's face was now as pale as death ; 


372 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


the strong man was trembling from the shock 
that had penetrated every nerve in his body, 
and with emotion he listened to the story of 
the locket that had revealed so much — that had 
brought back to them their, own child. 

“It seems incredible that my greatest ad- 
versary in Texas should be my son; that the 
one who brought me to a felons cell and 
wreathed my brow with the thorns of shame, 
should be of my own flesh and blood, mutter- 
ed Priest in a tone of resentment. 

“The very fact that our flesh and blood is 
a part of his own^ means a pardon to you,’^ re- 
plied the wife hopefully. 

The sheriff had now come in response to the 
request of ]\Irs. Priest to accompany them to 
the Governor’s Mansion. 

St. Clair greeted his father and mother affec- 
tionately, and for several hours discussed his 
babyhood days and the awful catastrophe that 
had changed the course of his life and divided 
the House of Priest. At the beginning of the 
conversation, the sheriff withdrew to another 
room and left the family to themselves. 

‘ ‘ George, for years we have fought each other 
defiantly; I stood for capitalized interests, and 
met you, the grand champion of labor, in the 
arena of political gladiators. We both stood 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


373 


valiantly for our respective cause, flinging 
mercy to the winds and asking no odds, we 
fought to the bitter end — the end of my pre- 
dominance. You left the field in triumphant 
glory, while I went from it in shackles and dis- 
grace to find my reward in the gloom of a 
prison cell, with a sentence of five years in 
the penitentiary to rob my nights of sleep and 
steep a proud spirit in the bitterness of agony 
and despair. You are now an heir to millions, 
and as my son and Governor of this State, I 
want you to grant me a pardon, and with your 
wife return with us to St. Louis and take my 
place at the head of the Brooks-Priest Oil Com- 
pany and manage its affairs. As my elder son 
you are entitled to this place — it is yours by 
the right of inheritance — yours by the right of 
blood and flesh. 

While it is true you are my father, I must 
not add another crime to the history of our 
family by using the Governorship — a station 
of honor and trust, in order to gain immense 
wealth, or free a transgressor of our laws merely 
because of family relationship. My heart bleeds 
over your adversity, but not to save my own 
life would I prostitute a sacred oath.’’ 

*‘My God! My God! Is it true that you 
are going to deny your own father his liberty? 


374 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


that you refuse to exert a prerogative that would 
^ave him the stigma of a convict?^’ cried Priest 
wildly. 

‘‘My father, this position in which I find 
myself, hurts me far more than it does you. 
You have for years violated the laws of Texas 
and driven rough-shod over the prostrate forms 
of laboring people, in your mad rush to a golden 
goal — to the throne of plutocratic sovereignty. 
In taking the oath of my office, I swore that I 
would defend and execute the decrees of justice. 
You have lived the life of a Pharaoh; with 
an iron-hand you have ruled tyrannically and 
oppressively, therefore you must submit to your 
sentence — the yoke you have for years placed 
upon the necks of the poor, you must now wear 
yourself and learn to bear its galling pains,’’ 
answered St. Clair resolutely. 

Seeing her cherished hopes fade away, St. 
Clair’s mother buried her face in her hands and 
sobbed aloud, while his father with a sigh looked 
hp into the face of his son and said: 

‘ ‘ I see the error of my past life as it stretches 
far behind me like a bleak and flowerless desert, 
over which are strewn the bones of men, women 
and children, but I ask at your hands a pardon 
that I might begin life over again at this junc- 
ture and tread the remaining path of life as a 


THE NOBLEST BOMAN. 


375 


philathropist ; as the sower of seeds that wifi 
develop into the fruits of blessing and nourish 
the hearts and souls of men.” 

can not interfere; the law must take its 
course. Thousands of poor fellows without 
money, friends or influence have crossed tho 
* Bridge of Sighs ^ for crimes much less than 
yours. I have promised the people of this State 
I would establish the precedent that money caaa 
not buy freedom for the wrong-doer; that the 
rich and poor must be punished alike.” 

Priest rose quickly to his feet and with the 
flush of anger on his brow, exclaimed: 

‘‘You are unworthy of the blood in your veins 
and the flesh on your bones ! Better a thousand 
times had you perished beneath the angry waves 
of the Atlantic the day of the awful disaster, 
than to allow this infamy to rest upon your 
father, and this disgrace to overshadow his 
home. Unless you grant that pardon I will dis- 
inherit you of every penny.” 

”If you were a true, brave father you would 
not ask your son to violate an oath as sacred as 
Heaven. As to that which you call my inherit- 
ance, it is not mine, but belongs to the poor yon 
have mercilessly robbed. I would rather re- 
main as I am, the defender of my people, than 
share the spoils of monopolism in its conquests 


376 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


over the defenceless. I would rather be a Moses 
and lead my countrymen from tho house of 
bondage to the sphere of greater liberties than 
wear the polluted purple as the crown prince 
of Plutocracy or bear the royal insignia of the 
house of the modern Pharaoh.*’ 

Two weeks later Henry Priest was taken to 
the Huntsville Penitentiary and turned over to 
the warden of that prison. His black tailored 
suit was doffed that he might don a suit of 
stripes — the unsightly imiform of the institu- 
tion. 


*‘They enter’d — 'twas a prison room 
Of stern serenity and gloom.” 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


377 


CHAPTER XXV. 


^‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee 
a crown of life.” 



ONIGHT, Governor St. Clair sat 
with his wife upon the broad 
portico of the Governor’s Man- 
sion. V year has passed since his 
inauguration — a year of continuous and strenu- 
ous struggle for his people. 

“I wonder if the noble Texans realize the 
many sacrifices you are making for them; the 
many burdens you are taking upon yourself in 
lifting the yoke of tyrannical oppression from 
their necks,” said Lucile as she kissed the deep 
furrows that responsibility and care had traced 
upon his stately brow. 

^^Yes, my darling, a year ago they manifest- 
ed their appreciation when they chose me to 
take the initiative in lifting from them the cross 
they had borne for years, and in the service 
of executing their will, I only did my duty. 


378 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


The people have at last awakened to the fact 
that they in their unity are the strength of the 
nation, and this realization has enkindled the 
spirit of defiance within their breasts, to the ex- 
tent of terrorizing the cold-blooded capitalists 
who heretofore trod the land of the brave with 
cloven feet.” 

*‘Yes, but your own stubborn and resolute 
determination to wipe out the last vestige of 
Monopoly was the shock that awakened a sleep- 
ing people and imbued them with strength to 
strike asimder the fetters that held them slaves,” 
replied Lucile proudly. 

‘‘No, indeed, the honors of all my conquests 
over Monopoly belong to the people. The laurels 
of this administration are theirs, for I was a 
mere weakling until their love and confidence 
transformed me into a battling giant.” 

‘‘Your modesty has gained a mastery over 
you and forbids that you share a glory that by 
a long established precedent belongs to the 
leader of a triumphant cause.” 

“Yes, but I am going to break that prece- 
dent,” said St. Clair seriously. “A general is 
no stronger than the strength of his soldiery.” 

“By the way, George, I received a letter from 
Kate today. Poor girl, her vain ambition has 
been shattered by the treachery of Hansford 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


379 


Kalab, who was married last week to a girl in 
New York. With a broken heart and blighted 
hopes she now realizes her awful mistake in 
measuring the worth of men by a plutocratic 
standard rather than by the scale of virtue. * * 

“Hansford Kalab, the wretch that he is, de- 
serves *an eye for an eye and a tooth for a 
tooth,’ but what more could Kate expect than 
such adversity in her life. In her haughtiness 
she looked down with contempt upon the poor 
and unfortunate of this earth, and in her vanity 
sowed tares with no thought of what the harvest 
Would be,” said St. Clair seriously. 

At this moment their attention was arrested 
by a carriage that stopped at the foot of the 
long walk extending from the street to the 
steps of the Mansion. An old gentleman alight- 
ed and was slowly walking toward the portico 
where Lucile and St. Clair were sitting. As he 
drew nearer, Lucile recognized her father, who 
had not spoken to her since his expulsion from 
the Judiciary. 

“Father! I am glad you have come at last!” 
exclaimed Lucile as she sprang into his arms 
and pressed his pale lips with a kiss. 

•“My daughter! My daughter!” cried the 
old man whose form was bent by the burdens 
of transgression. “For long and dreary months I 


380 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


have suffered your absence and longed for the 
sound of just one word from your lips. The 
spirit of resentment kept me away from you, 
but at last I conquered my haughtiness and 
resolved to come to you and George.” 

As Lucile and her father ascended the steps, 
St. Clair rose to his feet and advanced to meet 
bis antagonist of the past. The feeble old man, 
full of remorse, touched the heartstrings of 
George St. Clair who with a smile extended his 
band. 

“Father, I unite with Lucile in welcoming 
you to our home, and I assure you we are glad 
to have you with us.” 

“My boy, for years I fought you with bitter 
hatred, but time has revealed an adversary 
worthy of the highest civic honors, and tonight 
I acknowledge that my little girl was the better 
judge of what constitutes a perfect man. My 
life has also taught me that the most price- 
less thing in all the world is a spotless char- 
acter, and that its only defense is truth/ ^ re- 
plied Judge Graham as they entered the library. 

^ * Father, I thank God for this hour — the hour 
that gives me back my father and adds an- 
other ray of light to life ^s pathway ! ^ ^ exclaimed 
Lucile as she threw herself by the side of Judge 
Graham. 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


381 


The old Alcalde turned his eyes toward SL 
Clair, and with deep emotion said: ‘‘George,. 
I shall spend the remainder of my years in 
penitence for the error of my past life — a life 
of mockery and shame. For the wealth of the 
Plutocrat I tagged my soul for Hell and fol- 
lowed the path of the web-winged and cloven- 
footed, but I am now thankful for the social 
and political reverses that changed my course 
toward eternal destruction and stopped my soul 
in transit.’^ As he finished speaking, his silvery 
head fell upon his breast and he wept like a 
child over the ruins of a life that seemed ir- 
reparable. 

“Judge Graham,” said St. Clair with emo- 
tion, “may your declining years prove a bless- 
ing to humanity.” 

“The sins of my past life have turned my 
dearest and noblest friends from me, and their 
scorn like a ‘terror is turned upon me; it pur- 
sues my soul as the wind ; and my welfare pass- 
eth away as a cloud. ^ How true are the words 
of Saadi: ‘He who, when he hath power, doetb 
not good, when he loses the means will suffer 
distress.’ There is not a more unfortunate 
wretch than the oppressor ; for in the day of ad- 
versity nobody is his friend’,” muttered the< 


382 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


old man as he leaned upon his daughter for 
support. 

Lucile placed her arm around his neck and 
affectionately said : ‘ ‘ There is one who remains 
& friend forever; whose strong hand reaches 
down and lifts the penitent transgressor to 
loftier heights. The great Father in Heaven 
never deserts his children, but as a good Shep- 
herd, He follows His sheep into the brambles 
in His endeavor to draw them back to the 
fold.’^ 

‘*0 God! My God! Have mercy on my soul 
and purge my life of the awful crimes with 
which it is full! Oh, how the remembrance of 
my base deeds stings my conscience and tears 
with madness the mortal prison of the soul. O 
my children, my children! Had I but served 
my God and the people of my State with half 
the zeal I served Priest, Bradley, and the Com- 
bined Interests, they would not in mine age 
have left me naked to mine enemies — 

His lips could speak no more, and with an 
agonizing gasp he fell forward upon the floor. 
The soul of the betrayer and oppressor of men 
had winged its way to the celestial Court of 
Justice, over which presides ^The Judge of All 
the Earth J 


THE NOBLEST ROMAN. 


m 


^‘So fallen! so lost! the light withdrawn 
Which once he wore! 

The glory from his gray hairs gone 
Forevermore! 

Revile him not — the Tempter hath 
A snare for all; 

And pitying tears, not scorn and wrath, 
Befit his fall! 

Oh! dumb be passion’s stormy rage, 
When he who might . 

Have lighted up and led his age. 

Falls back in night. 

Scorn! would the angels laugh, to mark 
A bright soul driven. 

Fiend-goaded down the endless dark 
From hope and Heaven! 

Let not the land, once proud of him. 
Insult him now. 

Nor brand with deeper shame, his dim. 
Dishonored brow. 

But let its humbled sons, instead, 
From sea to lake, 

A long lament, as for the dead. 

In sadness make. 

Of all we loved and honored, naught 
Save power remains — 

A fallen angel’s pride of thought. 

Still strong in chains. 

All else is’ gone: from those great eyea 
The soul has fled; 

When faith is lost, when honor diea, 
The man is dead! 


384 


THE NOBLEST EOMAN. 


Then, pay the reverence of old days 
To his dead fame; 

Walk backward, with averted gaze, 

And hide his shame!” 

Senator Bradley sold his city home and moved 
to the Gibbons Ranch — a principality, upon the 
hills of which graze registered cattle and race 
horses. The powerful Statesman of yesterday 
— the great and mighty god at whose shrine a 
loyal people bowed, today, hissed and scorned 
by his worshipers of the past, prefers a life 
of perfect solitude — a hermitage where the ac- 
cusing eyes of a betrayed people would not fall 
upon the face of a Judas whose conscience like 
a fiery lash was scourging him to a grave of 
shame. So it was, upon this ranch bought with 
corporate money and betrayal kisses, the social 
and political outcast spent the remainder of his 
days unhonored and unloved, while George St. 
Clair, the leader of the masses, stood loyal and 
faithful to his trust, receiving from the peo- 
ple who loved him, the grand appellation of 
**Tlie Noblest Roman of Them 

"His strength was the strength of ten. 

Because his heart was pure.” 


The End. 


Errata 

The following typographical errors in this 
book which were discovered too late for cor- 


rection, are as follows: 

Page Shoued Read 

10 — Tactise Tactics. 

126 — Speciment; - - - - Specimen. 

128 — Inferior; ----- Infernal. 

I33 — Were Lost, - - - - Was Lost, 

140 — Israel; Israfil. 

150 — Loads; Leads. 

151 — Furtous; ----- Furious. 

158 — Noctural; - - - - Nocturnal. 

180 — Glossal; Colossal. 

197 — Womanhod - - - - Womanhood; 

215 — Buldgeon: - - - . Bludgeon. 

218 — Descerated; - - - - Desecrated. 

244 — To her heels - - - - To der heels. 

248 — Curse Course. 

278 — Temporary; - - - Temporarily, 

281 — Commerciay; - - - Commercial. 
281 — From Austin: - - - - For Austin. 


THE AUTHOR 


The Noblest 
Roman 

BY Sinclair Moreland 

A novel containing the woof of fiction 
ingeniously interwoven with the 
warp of fact. 

Price $1.50 Postpaid 

Noblest Roman Pub. Co. 

Box 538 AUSTIN, TEXAS 

AGENTS WANTED 

IN EVERY TOWN. COUNTY AND DISTRICT 
WRITE FOR TERMS 






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